Good Looks - Lived Here For A While [CD]

Good Looks write kindhearted and cathartic rock songs about the persistence required to make it through hard times. In April 2022, the Austin, Texas quartet released their critically acclaimed debut Bummer Year. Immediately after their triumphant hometown record release show, lead guitarist Jake Ames was hit by a car crossing the street, fracturing his skull and tailbone. Thankfully, Ames made a full recovery. The traumatic accident strengthened the bond that built their electric new album Lived Here For A While. Out May 3 via Keeled Scales, it's fearlessly direct music that captures the full-throated intensity of their galvanizing live show. Reinvigorated, Good Looks tracked Lived Here For A While at Texas' Dandy Sounds with producer/engineer Dan Duszynski (of Loma and Cross Record) the following summer. Though Ames had to relearn some of his parts, his palpably energetic performances elevated the entire record. On the LP, the band trades the Americana sound that colored in the lines of Bummer Year for clanging post-punk guitars and expansive indie rock. Lyrically, the songs on this album are healing meditations on family dysfunction, new relationships, and how a home can become unrecognizable. Lyricist Tyler Jordan's songs explore how relationships can crumble irrevocably but also how those partnerships can be centering, hopeful, and exciting. In another horrific accident in July 2023, their tour van was rear-ended by a speeding car, causing their van, instruments, merch, and records, to become engulfed in flames. Thankfully, none of the band members suffered serious injuries. This resilience is essential to Good Looks and why the songs on Lived Here For A While resonate so profoundly.