Conversation & confusion with SPORTS LP “Get A Good Look, Pt. 1”

Text by Areli Freeman

A pastiche of funk and daily life, the first part of indie-pop duo SPORTS’ (Cale Chronister and Christian Theriot from Los Angeles, CA and Norman, OK)  two-part LP, Get A Good Look tells no grand story but instead pieces together little moments against a soundtrack of funk.

It feels as if we are hearing snippets of different conversations, and while we know that they are somehow connected it is difficult to determine how this is so. There is a sense of detachment in all the tracks, like in “Call Me Anytime” and “Never Know” there is an anxious separation between singer and subject, and singer and listener. It is unclear what is happening, and whether or not it is important, yet there is almost a sense of mundanity: while both seem to belong to different, regular conversations about love and life, there is a nervousness that underscores both. While this could imply that perhaps the tracks are boring, the anxiety they inspire challenges this: the funk elements form a static fog around the pieces of a conversation that we seem to be listening to without permission. 

In the other tracks, “Tell You Something,” “Don’t Get Me Started,” “The Look,” and “Baby Baby” there is a slight twist: while the feeling of separateness is maintained, instead of the heavy nervousness they lend a lightness to the album by being both sultry and aloof. Heavy bass and lyrics conveying longing signal that there is desire, but once again there is not a lot of clarity about the topics of conversation we feel that we are just one step away from being fully immersed in what we are listening to.

Overall, the first part of this LP is a little confusing in that it is difficult to tell what exactly is happening. But in some ways this confusion makes it even more interesting to listen to; like an indie-pop detective, the listener is tasked with determining what to take away from it.

Below photo: Max Alo