Album Review: New Loser

If there’s one commitment that New Loser – consisting of Brett Sutton and Brent Strathdee-Pehi – have in mind, it’s a refusal to be tied to any one genre. If there’s a second commitment, they’d probably tell you it’s to make genuine and truly creative music, whatever that may sound like.

The two have worked hard for years, and collaborated with multiple musicians from around the world to bring forth their debut LP, the self-titled New Loser.

In their own words, New Loser’s work “celebrates freedom and curiosity while holding on to the timeless pull of sonic colours, hooks and grooves”.

Judging by the album artwork alone – a big cartoon eyeball topped with a jester’s hat; you really couldn’t pin down what sort of music these guys have created. So with this sense of intentional ambiguity, I hit the play button and sat back.

Leading the way is the deliciously dance-able groove & shuffle of Baggage Control featuring Steve Tofa, filled with brightness and vitality, emanating a carefree feeling. Judging by the chorus “I’m gonna sing n’ shout, I’m gonna let it all out”, I’ll hazard a guess and say the baggage is of the emotional type, and this is all about shaking off worries and going with the groove, so to speak. One could easily imagine this song being played down at the local tavern on a Friday during sundown. Nice positive feeling all round.

Don’t get too comfortable with the airy atmosphere of the opening song though. Smile & Burn featuring Nicola Probert blindsided me by delivering pummeling double-kick drums, muscly basslines and vicious guitar chords. Is this really the same band? Or even the same album? Don’t get me wrong though, the heavy metal sound is gloomy yet hearty and energising, and I’m absolutely here for the riffs.

There are a few moodier moments on this debut release, one such track being Dance of the Saved, featuring Steve Tofa. Drums dominate here, while deep rumblings of bass guitar move the song along like a musical diesel engine. This is an arena-sized alt-rock venture with psychedelic effects woven throughout, serving up an intoxicating and dizzying listen.

As quickly as it came, the prog-rock elements are brushed aside, making way for a full-throttle punk rock number. Gang vocals, as well as barked lead vocals typical of old-school punk, is all here. The bass guitar tone reminded me of Lemmy Kilmister’s, and even the 80’s-esque guitars sounded extremely similar to early Motörhead; the unadulterated energy projected is just remarkable.

For their major single Find You (also featuring Steve Tofa), New Loser leans into soulful hard rock. The punchy drumbeats and seriously groovy basslines paired well with the soul-tinged vocals. With synths and keyboards added, this song was strongly reminiscent of kiwi icons Kora and Supergroove. Amidst the breadth of genres tackled on this release, it was inevitable that they’d serve up some of that classic “kiwi sound”.

Another tune that bore flavours of Aotearoa New Zealand was the hip-hop-ish Search Through This Rubble Son!, featuring fuzz-heavy guitars, experimental electronic tinkerings and rap lyrics at the forefront. The rocking groove, bouncing rhythms, and echoing voice effect during the track’s breakdown sounded a lot like early Tiki Taane, or Salmonella Dub with rock guitars. I was boogying comically in my seat for minutes thanks to the grimey vibes and bass-focused beats.

As the album progressed, more and more genres were explored. The production duo presented their take on psychedelic indie rock with the track All The Same featuring Dharinder Singh, while retro influences were called upon for Windows, as well as an equally 80’s informed Keep This Fire Burning featuring both Dharinder Singh & David Delemont. The latter delightfully combined offbeat guitars, jazz saxophones and twinkling effects, serving up a creatively experimental disco tune.

My personal highlight has to be Outback Cumbria featuring Mike Tauri, a track that really furthered eccentricity and boosted variety to the album. This instrumental interlude combined exquisite guitar work with Asian-sounding strings (I’m guessing it was an erhu?), all set over a South American-sounding rhythm, and delicate, light percussion. This particular piece let the music speak for itself without lyrics, painting a certain wilderness and beauty in its stripped-back approach. The inclusion of unconventional non-Western elements appealed to me even more. If you’re after something relaxing and ambient, this track is for you.

The record concludes with a sombre and introspective ballad, Pretty Happy Guilty. The slow but thumping urban beats add gravitas, while the female backup vocals boosts the personal nature of the lyrics. Also worth noting are the little flourishes of percussion and the end of passages.

On this debut 12-track album there are definitely no losers. The duo have stuck true to their motto of “every song must be honest and interesting”, and they’ve certainly achieved this. The songwriting is great, the compositions are a delight to explore, and the production is well-executed and balanced. 

There’s truckloads of different sounds and styles to be found from start to finish, in instrumentation, vocal deliveries and the melding of genres. This is perhaps the album’s big point of difference: Having different styles across almost every song. Showcasing a number of guest features no doubt helped add different songwriting approaches and sounds.

That said, this standout feature could arguably also be a downside; for the average listener, the jumping of genres may be jarring or distracting. Though the songwriting and execution of each track is impressive, not having a central sound to carry listeners through the record may see people skipping tracks. On the other hand, with the current prevalence of streaming services, song-skipping probably occurs just as often as “Play” is pressed, but I digress.

With this release, New Loser have proven themselves to be highly versatile and capable of working with a range of musical genres, as well as different artists. They’ve also shown their songwriting and production abilities to be nothing short of top-quality. In a lot of ways, this album could be considered a compilation, or portfolio of their capabilities, and it really is a remarkable and highly unique listen.

Find their album HERE, buckle up, and be taken on an experimental experience across more genres than you could count on one hand.