Courting - Grand National EP Review
Compared to their early singles, the production on Grand National is tighter, the songwriting is stronger, and the performances are more incendiary than ever.
On their debut EP, Courting keep the energy of their early singles whilst proliferating their production and songwriting talents. Born from moshpits and walls of death that no longer exist, Courting quickly became one of the most hotly tipped acts from the middle-England influenced post-punk scene. Sean Murphy-O’Neill fronts the group with an ardent grip that seems evermore tighter.
The EP fervently opens to title track Grand National. The riffs are catchy and Murphy-O’Neill's vocal melodies soar over the gritty instrumentation with such palpable ease. Lyrically, the track quirkily picks apart gambling culture, ultimately defining it as “not all that grand”. For a band that regularly make it clear they have no interest in being the next Idles, it’s surprising how political their lyrics can be.
The next track “Popshop!” was the first single I heard and what piqued my interest in this group in the first place. Its jagged angular guitar riffs and stomping drumbeat give it a groove that seems lacking in other tracks on the EP. Lyrically, this is one of the better tracks poking fun at people who listen to Ed Sheeran, “If you stream the Shape of You, you’re going to hell”, who interestingly did an unusual advert of sorts for the band.
The penultimate track ‘Crass’ is angrier than the first two. You get the sense that Courting don’t know what they want their sound to be. Testing the water with lyrics more akin to a band like Black Country, New Road: “I think me and Kanye might still have sex”. It works but sadly something feels off. The video accompanying this track using stock footage is perhaps another more damning example of this comparison. Fortunately, It’s Murphy-O’Neill’s delivery that gives this EP energy. There’s an authentic swagger with him that radiates through the tracks. The performances from the rest of the band are also worth mentioning, with many of the tracks on this EP illuminating a tight and fervent instrumentation and arrangement.
Courting demand your attention with their distaste. There’s a nastiness they expertly convey in their music. There seems to be disgust with just about everything: Kanye, the music industry, consumerism, and even themselves. You can feel their aversion for the ways in which capitalism turns music into a product and how easy it is for a group of young artists to be swallowed by this great behemoth.
The final track, ‘Slow Burner’, is the most vicious on the EP and undoubtedly the most inventive. With flourishes of influence from Charli XCX, you can see that this band exhibits their potential effortlessly. This is a track that leaves you wanting more, specifically more of this Frankenstein hybrid sound they pull off.
Compared to their early singles, the production on Grand National is tighter, the songwriting is stronger, and the performances are more incendiary than ever.
At times, though, Courting can feel like a walking contradiction. Not wanting to be political but then writing songs riddled with social commentary. Wanting to write fun songs called “Slow Burner”. It’s almost ironic that Courting seem to be enveloped in an industry that is saturated with paint-by-numbers white indie boybands. The band appear to be fully aware of this and give the impression they defiantly don’t want to be pigeonholed. Yet they seem to struggle when it comes to breaking through and carving a distinct sound of their own. There are some strong moments on Grand National but even those can be forgettable. The EP wants to be light-hearted but deep down it knows it isn’t. When Courting decide to knock down the walls they’ve created for themselves, that’s when their music will become what it craves to be.
