There’s some kind of concept to Courting’s sophomore album ‘New Last Name.’ It’s a nine part, ‘theatrical’ story told out of sequence and from different perspectives. Something about a wedding, 2009, lost love and moving to America. I don’t know, it’s hard to follow. I read the recent Stereogum profile where they explained the plot at some length and finished feeling even more confused. The idea speaks to Courting’s unrefined ambition and willingness to think a little outside the box. Those traits manifested into something quite grating on their hyperactive debut ‘Guitar Music.’ This time around, they’re able to focus their energies into something relatively concise and cohesive – if a little bonkers. ‘New Last Name’ is a fantastic levelling up.
Courting cite Frank Ocean and Hyper-pop as influences but in truth they are a throwback to the indie-rock of the early 2010’s. Their energetic, effervescent sound reminds me of Catfish and the Bottlemen, Circa Waves and Sports Team. But they also show an irreverent streak on sophomore album ‘New Last Name’, so it’s no surprise that they mostly get compared to The 1975. That feels a little lazy to me; sure, they share a collaborator in DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, and, to be fair, ‘We Look Good Together’ is an absolute dead ringer for something like ‘The Sound’ or ‘Happiness’ but Courting don’t strike me as being too indebted to Healey and Co. If anything their inspirations can be traced back much further.
‘The Wedding’, a wonderfully catchy description of an unbalanced relationship, bears the hallmark of its producers – Gary and Ryan Jarman of The Cribs. The chiming guitars and effortless melody elevate it about anything from ‘Guitar Music.’ Meanwhile, ‘Emily G’, which has a strikingly sharp chorus, has to be nodding to Mid-00s Indie Disco classic ‘Emily Kane’; from the name to the subject matter, right down to a spoken word section, the song smacks of Art Brut. Another highlight is the slightly more audacious closer, ‘America’, which references energy shields, Celine Dion and Amazon Prime across six minutes of increasingly crunchy indie-rock.
If all of this sounds very inter-textual then that’s partly the point. Courting are a very modern group; they think nothing of matching auto-tuned vocals with Fall Out Boy pop-punk. They make jokes about being verified. They’ve set up social media accounts for a fake band to help promote this album. They’re a lot, and they know it. But across nine bright and exuberant tracks, Courting have too much fun for it not to be infectious.
8.5/10
Pop goes the Weasel 
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