The Trouble in Mind label has a reliable winning streak going with new and up-and-coming bands. Frequently, the imprint's signings are risky, genre-pushing outfits, but Melbourne's Partner Look are a different proposition indeed. The group's new record, By The Book is full of tunes which recall acts like The Feelies and The Bats.
The opening title cut, self-titled and self-referencing, is gentle and inspiring, while "Rodeo Tragic" is more playful. This one, a real highlight here, has a spring in its step that's like early B-52's, even as the riffs mimic those of any number of seminal New Zealand bands. Elsewhere, "Right Here" revs up with a wry wit, a nice blend of the guitar hooks of a Feelies record with the smarts of an old Go-Betweens one, while "Deutschland" mines a similar vein, albeit with more mystery.
Partner Look have managed to ingest all of their influences in such a way that their resulting music is largely catchy and accessible enough to charm. One imagines a nice comparison point would be The Goon Sax if that band was intent on making stuff you could actually hum along with. As it is, Partner Look have delivered a remarkably assured record here, as By The Book brims with promise and melody.
By The Book is out now via Trouble in Mind.
[Photo: Jason Boltex]