LooperOffgrid:Offline
Reviewed by: Dan Williams
Stuart David, former bass player and co-founder of Belle & Sebastian formed Looper in 1998. This is their fourth album and it is quirky, loopy (pardon the pun) and fantastic.
David has an odd whispery voice that on first listen was off-putting. On subsequent listens, I can’t imagine a different vocal style for these songs. They are a nice variety of Psychedelic British Pop (“Outro Tip Toe Home” with its unmistakable homage to the opening of “Strawberry Fields Forever”), Spoken Word (“Images of the Shipwreck”) and 60’s Rock complete with Doors-like organ (first single “Farfisa Song”).
Each song is an Indie-Folk masterpiece. He reminds me very much of Elliott Smith in style, but more positive in substance. That in itself is a ringing endorsement to give this album a spin.
Looper is a very interesting band with no attempt at hiding its many influences from Rock, Pop and Indie. Offgrid:Offline is a superb example of their skills. Accompanying this newest album are the rerelease of their previous three discs.
Rating: Bad-Ass
