FOR FANS OF: MGMT, PASSION PIT, GROUPLOVE, GRIZZLY BEAR, AND FOSTER THE PEOPLE.
The 2024 debut EP from musical duo Good Neighbours takes aim squarely at the indie pop-rock genre of the late 2000s/early 2010s to create an oddly nostalgic trip back to the near past. Featuring two songs – their debut single ‘Home’ and the title track ‘Keep It Up’ – the mood is very much melancholy aspirational.
Made up of musicians Scott Verrill and Oli Fox, Good Neighbours formed in 2023 when the two, who shared neighbouring rooms in the same East London studio, decided to collaborate for fun. Channeling their shared tastes in music (MGMT, Passion Pit) and film (A24), they ended up with the chorus for ‘Home’ which they threw up online before being blown away by the positive reception it got. Following this response they had to rapidly work to flesh out and build the rest of the song around the successful chorus.
The finished track, themed around the intangible feeling of homesickness, is easiest to describe as ‘Ophelia’ by The Lumineers, covered by Foster the People. Rather fittingly for a track about loving and missing what you know, it quite successfully recaptures the indie mood of just over a decade ago. Those familiar with the music of that time will immediately recognise it. From the echoing whistle and repeated, simplistic keyboard combo intro, to the softer higher-pitched vocals layered with reverb, the chunky rolling drumbeat – and everything building to a passionate chorus that yearns for something that can’t be held. It doesn’t invent anything new, but it’s clear that that was not specifically the aim.
‘Keep It Up’ doesn’t radically depart from this design, but it comes out as a stronger piece, probably by merit of not having to be reverse engineered from a chorus. More relaxed and lethargic, but no less committed, it has a more feel-good atmosphere. The lyrics encourage us to try and be positive (keep it up!) in the face of the complications of our lives. With the looping piano backing track, heavy clap drums, reverb, and soaring bridge vocalisations, the band’s inspirations are worn proudly on their sleeve. The result is a song that belongs on a playlist for summer afternoons in the park.
With the whole EP coming in at just barely over five minutes, the takeaway is short but sweet. Two well-crafted and catchy tracks that may not necessarily be bold in innovation, but might be a welcome return for certain fans of the genre, and may even be a reverse gateway for new listeners. Going forward it will be interesting to see how their sound develops and how they learn to define their own style.
Good Neighbours will be touring the UK in October.
WRITTEN BY ALEX ELLER
NOBODY MAGAZINE 