Outfit - Two Islands

Liverpool isn’t exactly renowned for its blue skies and temperate climate, so perhaps it seems fitting that scouse band Outfit play misty, drizzly music. Their ‘Two Islands’ single might borrow certain stylistic influence from our chillwave-minded friends over in sunny LA, but the end product is overcast, modest, a little eccentric, and very British. Outfit are not concerned with selling themselves; with a next to non-existent Internet presence, you get the feeling they’d rather stay tucked up in their borrowed Merseyside mansion and just get on with the music.

The A-side ‘Two Islands’ features cheery tambourine, and a charming little piano line that clinks alongside the song’s afro-tinged beat. The lyrics however tell a different story, full of loneliness and yearning. Andrew Hunt provides the vocals, and the songwriting is clever, but accessible. With a sweet melodic verse and an anthemic chorus, Outfit stand out above bands who are sloppy with structure, and rely heavily on weak rhymes and clichés.

In ‘Vehicles’ the writing is equally good, crafting clever rhymes that wind in unexpected directions. The B-side might be slightly more downbeat, but it still shimmers with synthy bits and guitar licks. Like the north’s answer to Roxy Music, Outfit create pop music with an avant-garde twist, and share the same obsession with popular culture. Outfit is concerned about our modern existence and avoids those evil ‘www dots’ like the plague. Well I’m sorry boys, but it looks like you’re going to have to make a proper band website, because if ‘Two Islands’ is anything to go by, Outfit are going places.