(Cover art by Present Company) Minneapolis pop-rock quartet Present Company spent most of 2020 in a whirlwind surrounding the release of their gleaming debut album, Talking on Couches . However, the band is flaunting their work ethic and releasing a new single already. "It's Not Looking Good" is the band's most effortless song yet. Present Company embraces their new wave heritage and play with some of the most iconic elements of that era — hooky bass lines, primitive yet effective synth programming, and the wild vocal fluctuations of David Byrne. I really can't understate how much the song evokes the Talking Heads. The band clearly knew how perfectly they were nailing the aesthetic and how catchy every part of their songwriting was when they structured the song as a loop. The first seconds are spent fading in; the last are a fade out. In between, a M.C. Escher drawing's worth of intersecting melodies and hooks is constructed. The honed-in version of Presen...

Present Company  -  Talking On Couches  (self-released)   It's almost harder to make a familiar sound feel new than to explore an unfamiliar one. Either one takes boldness and a various amount of musical ability, but the former tends to get lost in the sameness. You've heard songs that sound like Present Company's debut full-length Talking On Couches . It's anthemic, synth-drive indie rock, recognizable to pretty much anyone who has engaged with independent music over the past two decades. But the core duo of Christian Nelson and Eddie Chisham have assembled 11 songs that transcend their influences and nail a particular aesthetic. The Minneapolis band eases into their sound on opener "Probably." Nearly half of the song goes by before any lyrics are sung, but as soon as the vocals crash in, it goes into melodramatic overdrive. There's a theatre-kid playfulness as Present Company commands the listener to "dance for your life" and "dance now to...