Courting return with their third album, Lust For Life; Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’ – The only time we’ll name it in full. It follows last year’s New Last Name and is said to be the second of a trilogy of records. As a recent fan of the band, I’ve come to expect nothing but the unexpected from them, so it’s best to let them do their thing.
After the serene-setting intro, we fall straight into the depths of ‘Stealth Rollback’. Its electronic sound is harsh with distorted vocals and industrial beats that fill the room with dust. There’s an element of The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’ in its abrasiveness, which soon dissipates for a harmonious section that’s almost euphoric. Acting as a moment of clarity before the band return to the hellish intensity of the verse. This makes way for the more immediate ‘Pause at You’, which maintains some of the heaviness but brings LCD Soundsystem percussion and dancefloor riffs to make it groovy. It’s a real earworm.
To experience such whiplashes in style is quite something, but somehow it does come together to become a thrilling listen. ‘Namcy’ follows with a Punkier aesthetic, as its driven riffs head into some of the album’s catchiest moments. The shoegaze-y head of ‘Eleven Sent (This Time)’ comes with melancholic harmonies and a hopefulness that feels like it could be the ‘Tender’ of this warped generation, before reverting back to the overblown noise in ‘After You’.
Despite its near 26 minute runtime, Courting find time to fit in six and a half minutes in the title track. Beginning with a steady intro, the song eases into place with a chilled set of chords and wandering basslines. Horns and synths make their way inside to bring all sorts of emotion into the mix, and suddenly the song transforms into this epic, Black Country New Road-esque climax that is anthemic beyond belief, and just when you think it’s over, the anthem subsides into a heavily off-kilter close that features all of the noodley guitars you could want.
As much as Courting flit between genres, it’s commendable to see that same enthusiasm for variety exist this far into their career. Three albums traditionally has a sound that’s firmly set in stone, and foundations left untouched. Courting seemingly throw out the blueprints at all times, which certainly keeps us on our toes. The result is an album that is enthralling at all angles. Lust For Life… is a fantastic drive in all directions, and somehow comes together to be cohesive and explosive all at once.
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