It Looks Sad. 'Sky Lake'

The debut album Sky Lake from It Looks Sad. is released by Tiny Engines on 9th November

The first material from this pair in nearly three years, It Looks Sad hail from Charlotte, North Carolina a region of America which has beaches and gorgeous coastal lines but nothing that would make you think of rich Californian beaches in the pure sunshine.

Following band changes, the band now comprise of the duo Jimmy Turner (vocalist and keyboardist) and Alex Ruiz (drummer). Despite the hiatus Turner has not stopped writing and progressively has moved from the earnest writing of three years ago to a more formative composition; writing songs within a sonic landscape.  He asks you to embrace the sound and feel of the record.

Starting with the shimmering thumping of 'Shave' it tells us that there is a series of two-minute interludes which continues with the wonderful 'Bike'. The album is full of hooks worthy of comparison to their label mates Spirit of the Beehive and the UK's own Night Flowers. 

There has been this recent uptick in albums of quantity married with quality - bands want to be short but sweet to linger with your earworms a la Frankie Cosmos and Tony Molina. Maybe this is indicative of the lack of attention span in people nowadays, but if new bands feel this is a sow to plough then its fine by me.

From the pulsating 'Sisters' to the gorgeous 'Palms', this is an album full of priceless pop and at some points reaches moments of glory from a bygone 80s album.

Sky Lake is an album full of summer shimmers and magnificent pop that will make you smile and groove.

Sky Lake is out from Tiny Engines on all formats from Friday 9th November