Looksy

Deeper Into The Woods

Written by: BV on 24/09/2013 20:15:43

Looksy is the name of a quartet based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that primarily exists as an indie-blues outfit. Having existed since 2011, “Deeper Into the Woods” is their second studio outing wherein they explore the already well-traveled roads of blues-rock whilst melding in a hint of their personal indie-touch to the otherwise tried formulas of the blues standards.

As “Heads Up” opens the album with a hint of cascading echoes, the bluesy part of Looksy is soon revealed to be a quite dominant one. The mellow, yet kind of melancholic soundscape is surprisingly refreshing for a blues track and it is no lie when I say that the guitar-work in particular is rather proficient. The somewhat mandatory guitar solo in any given blues track is surprisingly left out, instead letting the vocal work take a greater part of the spotlight – with great success, I might add.

The steadily boogieing “Beds” runs in a slightly familiar vein, coming off as distinctly bluesy, yet not entirely derivative. Upon hearing it, my mind drifted towards newer outfits like The Temperance Movement or Houndmouth – both of whom have mastered the art of bluesy incorporations into a somewhat more indie-oriented soundscape. Unfortunately for Looksy though, there is a slight tendency of repetition throughout these five relatively brief tracks that make up this EP. Whilst coming off as refreshing at first, a song like “Nature’s Trick” soon comes off as rather tried and, well, relatively uninteresting as the attempt at a somewhat harder edge melded with a ‘sing-along’ chorus just seems a bit too farfetched for me when compared to their genre contemporaries in Houndmouth and The Temperance Movement, just to name a few.

In short, “Deeper Into the Woods” initially comes off as rather interesting and relatively refreshing. However, given a decent amount of listens this formula soon becomes tiring as well, indicating that the album isn’t a grower, but rather an album that can’t bear too many consecutive listens. It’s still interesting and there some very fascinating tracks on it. – It just needs a bit more work, a greater sense of coherence and, perhaps, a bit more variation in the general expression. Hopefully their next outing will show us a development of their obvious potential.

Download: Heads Up, Beds
For The Fans Of: Houndmouth, The Temperance Movement, Love Crystals, Alabama Shakes
Listen: Facebook

Release date 26.07.2013
Self-released


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