Liverpool indie foursome Courting, deliver their the sophomore record New Last Name via Lower Third. Untethered to any fixed genre, the album explores new sonic directions as they break free from their post-punk moorings and debut LP Guitar Music. Here to delve a little deeper into five tracks off the record, the Liverpool four-piece share the inner meanings behind multiple tunes as they expose their inspirations.

The first song we wrote for the album, it is an exaggeration of the themes we were exploring on our first record. We wanted to cram it to the brim structurally, full of little details and references to pick up on repeat listens.

In terms of the narrative - Our protagonist is wealthy, successful, and famous... but at what cost? Our protagonist misses their ex (after seeing their glow-up), wears Ricks, chainsmokes, sends thought-out emails about their wellbeing to people they should’ve replied to sooner, and has increased their screen time by 25%. In a thrilling conclusion, our protagonist does donuts in a closed car-park, in a 1967 mustang, with all of their friends. The event is livestreamed on twitch to be rewatched until the end of time. ‘Flex’ is as sincere as we can be. Sometimes the lines between real life and fiction get blurred here, but we’re nothing if not committed.

We wanted to write a song with a plot twist, a song that could be described as “an epic.” Lamenting a past love, our protagonist returns to “the city” ,and remembers, misremembers, and forgets just about everything that has happened beforehand. Drawing a blank, they pray to be wished away to a simpler time.

The albums token pop song. We thought that a lot of bands often attempt to turn their songs into hits by cramming them with choruses and taking away their integrity, instead, we decided to actually just write a real pop song.

The last song we wrote on the album, we wanted to write a pretty song — some respite for the listener in the middle stretch of the record.