Good Morning Seven＜限定盤/Yellow & Clear Blue Vinyl＞

After a decade of making scruffy indie pop on the lo-fi fringes, Australian duo Good Morning moves into more ambitious territory with 2024s double album Good Morning Seven. For those counting, the prolific partnership of Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons has so far yielded six prior releases, a few of them official albums, others clocking in at assorted EP lengths. For such a loose-sounding D.I.Y. operation, theyve had remarkable success, pulling in huge streaming numbers, touring globally, and crossing over into the hip-hop world with shout-outs from Tyler, The Creator and a high-profile sample of one of their songs by A$AP Rocky. Unlike much of the bands earlier output, Good Morning Seven is a patient and intentionally layered album recorded over several years. Of the approximate 70 songs proposed for the project, 17 made the final cut which, at 51 minutes, is Good Mornings longest release to date. Its also their most sophisticated, downplaying the guitar-based approach of earlier albums in favor of keyboards, synths, and lush chamber pop arrangements. The gorgeous "Queen of Comedy" is a perfect example with an intricate string arrangement courtesy of Chloe Sanger and a reverent West Coast-meets-indie pop vibe not unlike the High Llamas or early Elephant 6 bands. "Dog Years" is another standout with a sweetly fluttering arrangement and a yearning, bittersweet melody. Punctuating the albums contemplative, midtempo feel are little pockets of psych-rock, prog, and other textural experiments, making it feel like something of pop opus. Good Morning Seven is a leap forward for Blair and Parsons not only as songwriters, but also as producers whove wisely spent the last ten years building up enough pop savvy and technical skills to make a record of this caliber. ~ Timothy Monger