aaamusic | On 23, Oct 2011

Three months after unleashing the If You’re Listening EP (‘Ones to Watch’ – Clash Magazine; “Beyond excited…a perfect summer release” – Planet Notion), London 4-piece Look, Stranger! now return with their second release and debut single Kept It Alive.

 

Kept It Alive was recorded in a West London attic, and produced by percussionist Thom Hosken. You’d be hard-pressed to distinguish it from a high-budget, professional production however – the track sparkles with the distinctive sheen that prompted The Recommender to describe the tracks on the If You’re Listening EP as “so clean it’s like Nasa have been polishing them”. This is a band as comfortable in the studio and behind a mixing desk as they are in the practice room or on a stage.

 

It’s perhaps no surprise Look, Stranger! like to do things themselves – having met at school as pre-teens over ten years ago, the four members forged their friendship over an all-night walk across the Isle Of Wight in 2004 and now know each other with a depth and familiarity that allows them to work together quickly, efficiently and decisively. It’s not just in recording that this democracy is visible, either – structures, tunes, parts and often even lyrics are written collectively too.

 

Kept It Alive is indicative of the band’s unwillingness to stand still. Where If You’re Listening stood at the edge of the dancefloor (“Wild Beasts with more groove”, said Breaking More Waves), Kept It Alive strides into the middle with a moody confidence. Hosken’s beats are more prominent, shuffling and skipping whilst the bass and keyboards lock in below, but though the influence may be more Joy Orbison than Joy Formidable, Kept It Alive is very much a pop song and the focus of the track is without doubt the immediate, arresting melody carried by singer Tim Sheinman’s weightless falsetto. Despite the nods to bass music, there’s more than a little of Tears For Fears, Trevor Horn-era Yes and even Earth, Wind and Fire in the song’s reverb-soaked ambience.

 

The single is backed with a remix by Hosken’s ThomThumb alter-ego, plus live set-closer To The River, a song which shows off the band’s songwriting prowess and instrumental proficiency. A textured, ebbing piece, To The River “hits heights most other bands only dream of” (Communion).

Kept It Alive is set for release on the 7^th November 2011.

 

Upcoming live dates include:

October 20: Popular @ Electricity Showrooms, Old Street (single launch)

 

For music and further information check:

http://lookstranger.bandcamp.com/