Melbourne's Good Morning make indie-pop that's angular and yet full of heart. Like a nicer Parquet Courts, the band have a unique sound, even if it's one that has some obvious influences. The group's newest release, Basketball Breakups, is out today.
Opener "Best Supporting Actor" sounds like Ray Davies singing something off of Wowee Zowee, while "But We're Not There Yet" reveals debts owed to Richard Hell and Jonathan Richman. The players here -- Liam Parsons, Stefan Blair, James McLeod, and John Considine -- make stuff like "Garden" feel fresh even if it sounds a bit like Pavement (again), while the lighter "Pet" is more laconic. The cut sounds a tiny bit like some stuff from Yank band Twin Peaks, but it, like "War on Me", feels a lot like something from The Kinks circa Arthur too. The band takes "Run" and pushes it in a few different directions, here towards the kind of thing Nilsson would have written, and then back towards a number that either Davies brother could have cranked out in the first half of the Seventies. Good Morning have a distinctive sound despite the obvious reference points, and they place enough emphasis on melody to make this whole thing very recommended.
Basketball Breakups is out today.
More details on Good Morning via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Xi Cao]