This column has essentially become updates for what I’ve been listening to, so I feel obliged to inform you, dear reader, of my recent spin: “Bummer Years,” the debut record by Texas band, Good Looks.

The group’s Spotify bio describes them as the Replacements meeting the War On Drugs, and there’s not much better of a description I can think of. There’s more bite in the guitar tones than the War on Drugs but more shimmer, as mentioned in their bio, than the Replacements.

It makes for the perfect combination of two different types of indie rock.

The title track is beautiful, featuring willowy, fingerpicked guitar that leads into a chorus with picture-perfect small-town imagery in lyrics like “Take me to the beach/ shootin’ fireworks/ feed me crawfish/ Trick your cousin into buyin’ beer.”

Good Looks have got choruses figured out. Another fingerpicked track, “First Crossing,” gets groovy in the chorus and adds hints of Wilco-esque organs.

“Walker Lake” hits harder than perhaps any other song on the record and it concludes the album, which I’m not used to. I feel like it’s far more common for bands to end records on airy or stately ballads, so ending on a banger is pretty cool. The lead guitar’s tone especially shines here.

“21” is another early anthem for Good Looks. They really don’t sound like a small band; rather, more like a heartland rock mainstay that deserves to be mentioned in the same vein as Kurt Vile or the War On Drugs.

There’s nothing like a nice, long band bio, and those interested in Good Looks can find just that on their website. The reason I like them so much is because a lot of the time, they can lead you to new music and artists to start listening to.

Tyler Jordan, the Good Looks frontman, is cited as being a fan of the albums that were coming out of the studio Dandy Sounds, which is where the band would end up recording their debut.

A quick visit to the Dandy Sounds website provides those interested with seven recordings they can check out.

Given my quick consumption of “Bummer Year,” this is great because I can listen to a bunch of music that, in some capacity, meant something to Good Looks before and even during the writing of their record.

Unfortunately, the record is short, spanning seven songs in 30 minutes. As a greedy music consumer, I hope this translates into another record in a short amount of time.

Ryan Meyer is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at rameyer@eiu.edu or at 581-2812.