Some people like to build sandcastles just so they can have the fun of knocking them down, and one wonders if the members of
Courting like to do that when they head to the beach. Hailing from Liverpool, England,
Courting are a band who know how to write tuneful and engaging indie rock melodies and deliver them with plenty of punch and an admirable amount of drive. However, on their debut album, 2022's
Guitar Music, they show off this talent while also going out of their way to mess with their own work in a variety of ways. What could have been a straightforward indie rock album gets filtered through a mix that randomly pushes the vocals up over everything else once in a while, layers distortion over the instrumental tracks, pops in some noises that appear out of nowhere, and occasionally shifts gears and jumps from point A to point D and back to point C just for the hell of it. If
Courting are committing acts of vandalism on their music, they seem to be thoroughly enjoying it, and the fractured wit that goes into their détournement is a fine complement to the lyrics, where the band ponder such questions as whether or not they'll ever have sex with
Kanye West, if having fewer muscles would make them sexier, and which of their friends are having plastic surgery.
Courting have cited
Pavement,
Blur, and
LCD Soundsystem as among their leading influences, and on
Guitar Music you can hear bits of all three without the music ever truly sounding like any of them -- surreal mutated Britpop with messed-up electronic flourishes, this music shows how someone can absorb the work of others and use it as raw materials for some patchwork vehicle of their own. (Keep in mind that this album called
Guitar Music rarely wastes an opportunity to avoid sounding like guitars dominate the band, even when they do.) It's even more impressive knowing this is the first album from four guys who are barely in their twenties -- if they're this interesting now, what will they be like when they really know how to sabotage their art? Only time will tell, but at this point
Courting are delivering some smart, bracing fun that will keep you guessing in plenty of good ways. ~ Mark Deming