The Unpredictable Narrator: Courting Has A Lust For Life In Their Newest Album

Courting thrives on chaos. Their music has always been a blend of genres: hyperpop, indie, and post-punk attitude. The band's newest release 'Lust For Life, Or: 'How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story'' is simultaneously a refining and a revolution of their artists. Altogether the album has a sense of urgency, tons of unpredictability, and yes, chaos.

The album’s introduction, 'Rollback Intro', feels cinematic. Swelling but tight violins build up quickly like the soundtrack of a coming-of-age film. The song hints that we are about to embark on a very specific journey with the album. Yet, when we are met with the second track, it’s abrupt and entirely different. We aren’t allowed to get comfortable with Courting’s sound, they won’t let us, as 'Stealth Rollback' yanks us in the opposite direction.

'Stealth Rollback' is a frenzied club track (Babygirl club scene-esque) with a pulse like a heartbeat. Distorted vocals (akin to Julian Casablancas of The Strokes) swirl in stereo (highly recommend noise cancelling headphones if you have them). The phrase “It’s Lust for Life / Live in stereo!” is repeated like a mantra, bordering on madness. The Brit-pop aesthetic is very prominent here, which is why the rest of the album is so surprising to the ear, genre wise. But it’s Courting, so of course we don’t know what’s coming next.

'Pause at You' marks the first real introduction to the vocalist Sean Murphy-O’Neill that isn’t distorted. There’s a sleazy influence in the rhythm and a pop burst in the chorus. The catchy and bouncy bassline drives the verses, underpinning lyrics that blur cityscapes with existential musings: "Exit stage left, billboard right / I see God in the city, I don’t believe it."

The nostalgic undercurrents continue into 'Namcy', a track dripping in early-2000s indie nostalgia. The lyrics “Get me away from here, I’m dying” feel both ironic and sincere, a balance Courting strikes often as they play on words and clichés like “Give me somewhere to hide / French exit, Irish goodbye”.

The middle of the album takes a turn and 'Eleven Sent (This Time)' opens with a pop star delivery and a slow romantic trumpet following through. Like a sped-up version of the LA indie band Slow Hollows’ track 'Again'. Following is 'After You', which is pure chaos, throwing hyper-pop production techniques into a noise rock framework, creating a song that feels like it's constantly glitching and reforming.

The titular track, 'Lust for Life' is the emotional centerpiece, as it slows the album down with a soothing bass and ballad-like vocals. It feels intimate but somehow distant, like an echo. A slow saxophone adds an unexpected layer of warmth until around the 4:00 mark when the song transforms entirely. The tempo shifts and it’s as if every instrument in the band is being played. It feels reckless, and just when it seems like the album might settle, 'Likely Place for Them to Be' enters with the familiar melody from 'Rollback Intro’s' violins now set to a quick guitar, bringing the record to a euphoric close. The song is fast, playful, and bursting with the kind of brightness that feels straight out of the 2013 Tumblr era, like an MGMT or Vampire Weekend album. It’s a final twist in an album full of contradictions—after all the noise and distortion, Courting ends on something that sounds joyful. It’s an exclamation point at the end of a record that constantly keeps you guessing.

Molly Spencer

@mollyspencr

Image: Charlie Barclay Harris

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