Posted by If you could use one word to describe ‘Get A Good Look, Part I’, it’d be ‘chill’. That does go without saying though – it’s a niche Sports have established themselves as being very good at hitting since 2018’s ‘Everyone’s Invited’. You can tell the Tulsa twosome are comfortable in their ability within this style too, but perhaps they’re a bit too comfortable.
Despite all the good things you can say about follow-up ‘Get A Good Look, Part I’, it’s plagued by an all-too-common problem: it’s repetitive. A little too repetitive, at that. Across its 22-minute runtime, the EP engages you with lush instrumentation and gorgeous melodies; which is why it’s such a shame that it becomes a bit of a pain towards the end. Maybe as a standalone listen it would be different, but in the context of Sports’ existing catalogue, there’s not enough that’s different about ‘Get A Good Look, Part I’ to set it apart from their last full-length album. It sounds too much like an extension of ‘Everyone’s Invited’ to truly break any of its own ground.
‘Get A Good Look, Part I’ isn’t a bad project in the slightest, it starts out strong and there isn’t a bad song to be heard across the six-tracks. It’s a very fun and re-listenable EP that flirts with greatness, but in the end, is a lot like the band’s home state: OK. It’s clear that when the time comes for ‘Get A Good Look, Part II’, Sports need to bring some new ideas to the table before their brand of dream pop becomes tiresome.
It’d be a real shame if an upcoming band that look to be so capable of knocking it out of the park end up being remembered as nothing more than a one-trick pony. Come on Sports… surprise us next time.
7/10
Words: R.A. Hagan
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