As far as active bands within the UK music scene go Courting have long been my band. I've seen them live more than once, followed their every move and Guitar Music was my second favourite record of the year of its release. This excitement extended to their follow-up album and as the singles rang in I became more excited. "Flex" was a great success, an excellent track that develops exactly how it should, but then "Throw" came out and something changed. This was the first Courting song I found poor, the hook was weak and the song felt as if it went nowhere and my expectations for the album shifted.
So how did this extend to the album? In a sense, New Last Name features an inconsistency that up until this point has not been in the band's music. As previously mentioned opening track "Throw" is the band's weakest song, their usual knack for a killer melody just isn't there, and "The Wedding" feels inessential in a way none of the band's work has before. But that isn't to say there isn't good and to be frank the majority of the album is good. "We Look Good Together (Big Words)" is one of the poppiest cuts on the record and works pretty well with a pretty engaging guitar motif and some fun electronic inclusions.
Songs like "Flex" and "The Hills" make great use of explosive horn-carried finales which make the songs feel very rewarding. Electronic-driven tracks like "Emily G" have a killer atmosphere which make the songs. The closing two-song run initially shows the band at their most bombastic and it is a sound that works before ringing out emotion before blasting right back into a pummeling explosive conclusion to the final song, a worthy closing track.
There is a very particular type of album, it isn't quite a disappointment because it is still good, but there is still a potent feeling of it not quite living up to what came before, New Last Name is one of those. The band still have it, the majority of the album exhibits an embrace of more conventional textures and 2000s nostalgia in the band's signature style in a way that works, it's just a shame that not all of it works to that extent. This band are still great and have a mountain of potential but I can't help but find this a lesser project than what came before.
