For a band who have made a name writing cathartic songs about persevering in the face of hardship, life has certainly found a way of testing the resilience of Austin indie rockers Good Looks to its limit. Following the release of their excellent debut Bummer Year, lead guitarist Jake Ames suffered serious injuries when hit by a car in the street and later the band were rear-ended on the highway, resulting in the loss of not just their van but also instruments and merch. But true to their nature, these ordeals only strengthened the band’s resolve, as illustrated by new record Lived Here For A While which will release early this summer on Keeled Scales.
It promises to as intense and direct as ever, which is definitely the case on lead single and opening track ‘If It’s Gone’. A searing but kind-spirited song about the end of a relationship that focuses on coming to terms with loss rather than pining for the past. “I went through a breakup on day one of the pandemic,” explains frontman Tyler Jordan:
‘If It’s Gone’ kind of opened up the floodgates, and a lot of the other songs on this record were written afterward, so it feels really fitting that this is the first song on the record. I’m kinda hoping I don’t have to write any more break up songs, and if this is the last one I ever write, I’d be ok with it. I feel really proud of this one.
Watch the video, directed by Callum Scott-Dyson below:
Lived Here For A While will be released via Keeled Scales on 7th June. Pre-order it now from the Good Looks Bandcamp page.
Photo by Jackie Lee Young