Los Angeles, California may be best known as a hotbed for harder rock and punk bands such as Guns n’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. But TUFT, a band from Los Angeles who was formerly known as Hi Ho Silver Oh, is bringing a somewhat different sound to their city’s musical scene. TUFT’s chilled out all-encompassing textures differ from the majority of their Los Angeles counterparts, such as Silversun Pickups. Their debut album under their current moniker, Look Look, feels similar to many offerings that have been popular recently, and although the songwriting isn’t bad, one can’t help but wonder if this is a band that will fade away after this album.
“Sheep,” one of the more memorable tracks on the album, features a rock-solid hook that feels uncontrived and pure. “I am a sheep, dressed as a wolf,” vocalist Casey Trela croons in a singsong manner that becomes one of the main motifs of Look Look. Despite the fact that the energy sometimes feels lackadaisical, TUFT puts effort in their songwriting—they clearly want to be taken seriously as an act. By the time the title track of Look Look comes around, the songs start to feel rather repetitive. To add insult to injury, some tracks feel more forgettable than others on the album. “VCVC,” for example, feels like it was rather carelessly thrown together. This track merely acts as filler for singles such as “What I Am Doing” and “Stills.”
Yet, this is overall a good record, the enjoyable parts of Look Look vastly outweigh the negative aspects. It definitely feels weak at some points, but the determination that Casey Trela and the other members of the band show define the album as a winner. The larger question, however, is whether Look Look will pick up any traction. Although this is a great record, there is very little to make it stand out from the countless other debut releases from “baby bands” that continuously cloud the album release schedule. The album is a step in the right direction, but to say it is as good as some of the larger debut albums that have come around lately from acts such as Courtney Barnett and Jamie xx would be overkill. So while Look Look is definitely a solid entrance into the world of emerging music, the question remains, will we still be Look Look-ing at this band within a few years?