Labels: Lujo
Review by: Andy Malcolm
This album is the perfect example as to why you should never judge a band based on Myspace. It’s all too easy to listen to 30 seconds of a couple of songs on the internet and then casually fling a band on to the “meh” pile. I did exactly that with Look Mexico last year, but a couple of months later Keith from Empire! Empire! Insisted that I should check them out again. And so I bought their CD, and well blow me down, if it isn’t one of my favourite records of the past twelve months.
Look Mexico play a thoroughly engaging form of indie rock, all noodly twinkles and vaguely jazzy inflections, which makes them incredibly easy to pigeonhole as being very similar to American Football, or the highly under-rated Colossal who released a great LP on Asian Man (of all labels). Each of the songs on this substantial album are finely crafted, the variation in the guitar sounds slide together well, and the strong vocals (which I think initially put me off, I am more a fan of under-stated vocals in this genre) help carry the music. Each song bubbles along, building into more excitable moments and catchy choruses. It’s deceptively simple stuff, as given closer listening you start to appreciate that there are complexities buried amidst the good tunes. They rarely get too active, but that makes for a laid back record that fits a lazy mood to a tee. It’s hard to pick out a standout effort, as each track is effortlessly listenable, although some may sadly classify it as easy listening, particularly with the gentle jazzy parts that they tend to lay down. If pushed, I’d say that my favourite track is probably “You Ever Get Punched in the Face For Talking Too Much”, which nudges along enjoyably, with a little bounce and spot on harmonies. It’s the evolution of music from ten years ago into something still highly palatable. And “Me And My Dad Built Her” has a spot on classic sound from the late 90s, the kind of thing we just don’t get treated to very often these days, where the bass pushes the music on through. Man oh man.
“This is Animal Music” is an excellent album, I look forward to hearing more from these guys. I would have preferred a slightly more midwestmo take on things, but with quality indie rock so hard to come by these days with the genre being dominated by whatever Pitchfork approves of, well, you’ll take what you can get.