Ever since I learned of the German phrase phrase “partner look”, which refers to couples dressing the same, I have paid attention to whether couples I encounter are engaged in some form of identical dress. I have even broadened my inquiry to wonder whether some couples are deliberately avoiding dressing alike — an ‘anti-partner look’. I assured myself that it didn’t affect me as my wife and I do not have the same taste in clothing. At least I thought so until we boarded a chairlift last week and noticed that we were both wearing black ski pants, yellow ski jackets and the same brand and color of mittens. Only our helmets saved us from full ‘partner look’.
Why is that relevant to a post on a music blog? Well, it is because today’s featured album is By The Book by a quartet that named themselves Partner Look. The Melbourne-based band includes two German born sisters and their Australian partners and, as you can see on the above cover art, they have the partner look down to the last detail. But fashion choices aside, Partner Look is one of the more promising new musical projects we have encountered recently. Admittedly the deck is a bit stacked with talent (see the final paragraph below), but not all combinations work. This combination of friends, siblings and partners, however, sounds totally in synch. We expect a bit of jangle from a Melbourne indie pop band, and Partner Look does not disappoint. However, By The Book isn’t a scrappy jangle pop album. It boasts polished songwriting, varied textures and styles and assured performances. Here, your ears are in the hands of pros, so just relax and smile.
We usually only stream three songs from an album, going up to four when an album has 12 tracks, as does By The Book. However, after choosing three and thinking that the album may be a bit front-loaded, we discovered that the album is not, in fact, front-loaded. It is loaded. So rather than stress out in choosing three, we chose five. Our OCD was a bit troubled, but we will get over it.
Partner Look are Lachlan Denton (The Ocean Party/Pop Filter/others), Dainis Lacey (Cool Sounds), and sisters Ambrin Hasnain (Cool Sounds) and Anila Hasnain (Studio Magic). The name of the upcoming album is By The Book , and it will be released February 4 via Trouble In Mind in North America, and Spunk Records and Osborne Again in Australia and New Zealand.
