Giving Up - (Peace Sign / Frown Face) (Vinyl LP)

This is the second new one from Sophomore Lounge I’ve reviewed today, this time from a band called Giving Up, who I know nothing about. This is a pretty sweet package - massive and very cute screenprinted poster, little hand-stitched riso-printed photo booklet, download card, lyric sheet...the press release is pretty surreal and doesn’t explain a lot either, but what’s on the record is some kind of wonky, bright, sentimental post-punk. Phil says it sounds a bit like Three Mile Pilot and I think he’s got a point, but it’s much messier and has more of a jubilant lo-fi DIY feel.

There’s boy-girl vocals and the guy’s got quite a yelpy voice and then the girl’s voice is all pretty and earnest like Jenny Lewis back when she was in Rilo Kiley. It’s reminding me of so much indie rock stuff I like, from Meneguar to the Moldy Peaches to 12 Rods to Tar Feathers to the Mae Shi to Urusei Yatsura to Atlanta’s Carnivores. It’s reminding me of Tar Feathers and Meneguar the most, with less the former’s queasy stumbling grooves and the latter’s yelpy grungey accessibility.

It’s earnest and ramshackle and a little bit twee but the tunes are consistently catchy and affecting and there’s enough garagey rough edges to keep it from being too cloying. Absolutely one of the most charming and enjoyable things I’ve heard all month. All the things I love about slacker indie updated through rose-tinted glasses. As a child of the ‘90s I’m a little bit in love with this band already. Can’t wait to get this home and listen to it until I know all the songs inside out. Can we have more please?