A track that is interwoven with discernible anguish and undeniably catchy hooks is bound for a complex listening experience, and is all but expected from Swedish electronic post-punks Lust For Youth, whose new single, “Better Looking Brother”, is one of their most intricate songs to date. Released earlier this week as a digital only single via Sacred Bones, “Better Looking Brother” places more emphasis on the singular guitar than in past recordings, and with an irresistibly danceable percussive rhythm, a definite buoyancy penetrates throughout, creating one extreme of pleasantry. The bass almost controls the direction of the mood, shaping the other, brooding, extreme, indecisively progressing from downtrodden to uplifting and back again, as bright synth flourishes coat lead singer Hannes Norrvide’s uncaring voice. It’s as though a glow is placed on a miserable feeling, like a writer’s use of flowery language to describe something horrific… like a brother learning he’s the “ugly” one. A change in rhythm and climate, around the five-minute-mark, indicates the song’s suspenseful bridge, before releasing full-speed back into the dreamy chorus.
