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Lookers is a five piece band from Providence,
RI. I am pretty confident that EvilSponge has
never reviewed a band from Rhode Island
before, so here we are expanding our growing
empire of influence...
Lookers started when singer Muggs Fogarty and
guitarist Rafay Rashid started writing songs
in the 2010s. However, this is their only
release – no singles, no EPs. Apparently
they were refining their sound, because the
album Deeper shows a surprising
depth for a debut record.
The album starts off with a jaunty rhythm in
Midnight TV Dinner, a song that reminds
me of the 1980s, specifically those roots rock
bands that seemed to proliferate in the late
80s as a reaction to all the synthpop. This
song moves at a fun clip.
The title track is next, and here Fogarty
really lets loose. Her voice has a good range,
and she has a hint of natural tremolo, not as
much as, say, Mattiel,
but she can use that little waver to carry a
lot of emotion. This has a nice deep riff that
drives it along.
Violinist Florence Wallis takes over for Animal,
her violin and a nice whining guitar riff
drive this song. At the end some horns are
added in, the sax just an explosion of late
80s retro cool.
Alone moves along slowly, a happy
little tune with some piano, that wells up on
the choruses where Fogarty remarks, "I know
I'm hard to forget".
And as that fades out, there is a deep
clanging ringing noise and drums chugging
through distortion. It reminds me of the start
of Keeps The Streets Empty For Me by Fever Ray,
but Lookers only follow that odd synth path
for a little while, before veering off into
distorted guitar rock. Fogarty is spitting her
vocals, Wallis echoing them faintly in the
distance, as Rafay Rashid and Nick Politelli
grind and wail on their guitars. The song
channels anger as the chorus says "I'm going
to bury you under / that bar I don't go to",
which seems threatening. At the end it goes
all crazy with drums and voices and tremolo
guitars and noises moving in strange
directions. What a cool song.
Body Bag shuffles nicely, with a great
guitar line on top, some shaking percussion,
and Fogarty proclaiming she is safe "in my
body bag". That's kind of creepy, but it's a
nice bouncing song.
The next tune is called Depressed,
and Fogarty sings about how someone's
depression makes her angry. Another angry
tune, but the guitars and rhythm bounce along
nicely.
Thing features a swinging drum riff
some chiming guitars. Wallis sings a
higher-pitched backing to Fogarty's vocals as
the song just sways forward. It reminds me of
a slightly more polished version of the lo-fi
tunes on the first Shannon and the Clams
record.
The penultimate song on the record is a nice
little marching number that is most notable
because Fogarty blurs the phrases "don't cry
sis" and "no crisis". It's called Crisis,
and is not a bad tune, but might be the least
memorable on the record. That says a lot about
the rest of this record.
And then the record ends with the jaunty Dead,
with the dismissal, "Don’t talk to me I'm
dead".
And the album is over too soon. I could keep
listening, but I guess I will have to wait
until Lookers finish their next album. I hope
it doesn't take them 10+ years again...
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