Label: Lower Third
Released: 14th March 2025
Courting have never been a band that plays it safe, so why start now? On their masterful third album ‘Lust for Life’ etc., the Liverpudlian quartet unify the electronic-rock of debut ‘Guitar Music’ and pop-punk melodies of ‘New Last Name’ into an ambitious yet assured production that reinforces the band’s status as one of the most exciting British indie-rock bands on the scene.
The opening three tracks of ‘Lust for Life’ couldn’t be much different. ‘INTRO’ is a stripped-back violin solo that explodes into deep house banger ‘Stealth Rollback’ before taking another sharp jolt into pulsating 00s indie as ‘Pause At You’ announces itself on the scene. The band are clearly swimming in self-confidence, nowhere more clearly than on title-track ‘Lust for Life’, a six-minute three-parter that at once combines alt-pop autotune vocal, soulful saxophone solos, and Americana folk-rock storytelling that expands the band’s perimeters and establishes them as a true alt-rock tour de force.
It would be easy for this album to become muddled, as is so often the case when a band tries to find cohesion between so many ideas and genres, but Courting have managed to find that sweet spot. Partly helped by the relatively short tracklist and running time, the edges of genres are so blurred that it feels like they’ve always belonged together. The band have matured into their sound, forging a strong identity that has resulted in eight powerful tracks melding together to create arguably one of the best indie-rock albums in recent memory.
Indie, electronica, pop-rock, pop-punk – it doesn’t matter what you call it; ‘Lust for Life’ is Courting’s best album yet, and they’re only just getting started.
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