Have you ever wondered what London's premier space-age bachelor pad band would sound like? No, neither have we, but we have an answer anyway. For London four-piece Look, Stranger! (note the deliberate use of the exclamation mark in much the same way as Los Campesinos! use it – as if the group are wanting you to take notice BUT ARE STILL TOO AFRAID TO SHOUT IN CAPITALS) define themselves as such a band. By clicking play below you can put the flesh on the bones of this definition.
Let’s see what a few others have already said about Look, Stranger! They will ‘both move you and make you move’ suggest Oh Inverted Word. “They’re as multi-layered and thought-provoking as any of their contemporaries, but in place of the commonplace fried computers is set of gravity-defying marshmallows,” stated The Recommender, which conjures up some warped Willy Wonka vision of the first ever band floating in a sweet shop . Now it’s our turn to add a few words.
Look, Stranger! make indie music that’s formed out of intricate structures, electronics and subtle dance based atmospherics, without ever bringing to mind ‘da club’. It’s smooth, gently persuasive and innocent sounding. Think Wild Beasts with more groove (particularly when lead singer Tim gets his falsetto on during Dance Away) or the brother of the self-proclaimed ambitionless office disco of Trophy Wife. Look, Stranger! sit somewhere in this area. Despite that exclamation mark this is not a band that punch with massive impact first time round; in many ways it sounds like the group is trying to supress emotion, big choruses and hooks seem to have been thrown out of the window. That’s fine though; we don’t want everything to sound like Coldplay do we? There’s space for everyone. Look, Stranger! are more akin to the coy good looking lad who has been slowly dancing away in the corner of the indie disco and has gradually sidled up to you without you even noticing. Before you know it you’re dancing together and there’s a distinct possibility that you’re going to end up going home with him.
Look, Stranger! consist of the aforementioned Tim on vocals, David on piano and synth, Alistair on all things bass and Thomas who does things with percussion, samples and laptops. They have a couple of gigs lined up in London in August, keep an eye out on their Myspace for updates
If You're Listening by Look, Stranger!.
Dance Away by Look, Stranger!
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