EP Review: It Looks Sad. – Kaiju

Hailing from Charlotte NC, It Looks Sad. are an intriguing new take on indie-post-punk. With a strong summertime feel; this North Carolina four piece are following close in the footsteps of surfer blood and to a lesser extent; Foals, whilst adding an edgy almost melancholy angst to the mix. Kaiju was released digitally on Tiny Engines on 26th June.

The release starts with “Creature”, which is Kaiju’s stand-out track by far. With well thought-out, intertwining guitar melodies, this track is an instant summer anthem. Punchy and natural-sounding lyrics join the mix and lead to you into a huge catchy chorus before taking you back into a crisp verse. The track’s break down at 2.21 is a pleasant surprise that really ties the flow together. You can see yourself belting out “I’m in love with somebody and guess what – it’s not you” from a car on a hot day.  A cathartic feel good track to add to a “fuck you” playlist.

Next up we’ve got “Nagoya”, which is a good choice for the B-Side. What it lacks in anthemic vigour it makes up for as an honest track embodying more of a cult classic sound. The slow tempo and faux-autobiographical lyrics make the track sound on the whole more pensive, which is what separates this band from the stigma of happy go-lucky indie-post-punk bands. You get the feeling that there’s much more depth to the sound then what you first encounter.

It Looks Sad.’s Kaiju is a solid micro portfolio of what this band is capable of: honest and natural sounding on its on the surface, with an expressive but somber backbone. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Posted in Record Reviews, Reviews and tagged , , , .

Hope Rudd

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