Lived Here For A While: Vinyl LP

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: Keeled Scales
Release Date: 7th June

I was absolutely obsessed with Good Looks debut album 'Bummer Year', those tunes had such a humanity, such an understanding of the every day social and political positions of the current day, no punching down, only up, asking questions, not always expecting answers but knowing must of us are running the same race. It was also helped with the fact that the band delivers their indie rock Americana with that kind of punch the air rock n roll grit of a Replacements or a Springsteen. From the sounds of the early single, their sound is stretching out a bit, expansive if you will but with the same bite. A band you get proper obsessed with (at least I do).

Good Looks follow-up the Americana sound of Bummer Year for this sophomore follow-up of clanging post-punk guitars and expansive indie rock, exploring how a home can become unrecognizable.

Good Looks write kind hearted and cathartic rock songs about the persistence required to make it through hard times. In April 2022, the Austin, Texas quartet released their critically acclaimed debut ‘Bummer Year’. Immediately after their triumphant hometown record release show, lead guitarist Jake Ames was hit by a car crossing the street, fracturing his skull and tailbone. Thankfully, Ames made a full recovery. The traumatic accident strengthened the bond that built their electric new album ‘Lived Here For A While’. Out via Keeled Scales, it’s fearlessly direct music that captures the full-throated intensity of their galvanizing live show.

Reinvigorated, Good Looks tracked ‘Lived Here for a While’ at Texas’ Dandy Sounds with producer/engineer Dan Duszynski (of Loma and Cross Record) the following summer. Though Ames had to relearn some of his parts, his palpably energetic performances elevated the entire record.

On the LP, the band trades the Americana sound that coloured in the lines of ‘Bummer Year’ for clanging post-punk guitars and expansive indie rock. Lyrically, the songs on this album are healing meditations on family dysfunction, new relationships, and how a home can become unrecognizable. Lyricist Tyler Jordan’s songs explore how relationships can crumble irrevocably but also how those partnerships can be centering, hopeful, and exciting.

In another horrific accident in July 2023, their tour van was rearended by a speeding car, causing their van, instruments, merch, and records, to go up in flames. Thankfully, none of the band members suffered serious injuries. This resilience is essential to Good Looks and why the songs on ‘Lived Here For A While’ resonate so profoundly.