What does Armlock sound like?

Understated, contemplative indie rock to numb you from the weary world.

The review of ‘Seashell Angel Lucky Charm’ by Armlock

On their second album, ‘Seashell Angel Lucky Charm’ Australian duo Armlock are comfortably numb. Their style of indie rock is direct and accessible but that doesn’t make it any less impactful. If you scratch beneath the surface there is an awful lot to sink your teeth into.

Part of what makes Armlock’s music so inviting for the contemplative and weary among us is that everything has the structure of a huge rock anthem but the delivery is hushed, pulled back or strained like it’s about to burst. On the latest single ‘Fear’ the chords could be euphorically pounding away but they aren’t. Instead, Simon Lam’s voice is hushed and disembodied like he has zoned out for his own mental protection. The guitars and drums are middle-road and like a jelly mould being folded into a lazy shape. In both ‘Fear’ and album opener ‘Ice Cold’ we get moments of indie rock chaos coming from frequency pitches of feedback or screams through guitars as moments of dread and overwhelm seep out but Armlock keep their meandering nonchalant skipping through disaster tone playing through it. They even lean into piano folk at points too.

‘Guardian’ is the only track to reach a three-and-a-half minute mark. This album is short and punchy. It creates a web of guitar motifs that interweave each other like a nest of noodles. With both Simon Lam’s layered soft vocals and Hamish Mitchell’s guitar work interwoven, it is a surprisingly warm track. Crossing over to mildly uplifting is ‘El Oh Vee Ee’. It is the phonetic chorus that is an earworm that gets stuck in your head as baby giggles and family audio snippets play out to a guitar solo. This is a love letter to feeling loved and it shows. The title track follows as a short 43-second stretched vocal of someone singing ‘Armlock’ repeatedly.

The short album then rounds off with two excellent tracks. The first is ‘Godsend’, a brushed acoustic rock number that feels breezy and airy. Air is the element of this album – it crops up regularly and so does religion. An underlying lyrical thread is that Simon Lam has moved away from his Catholic upbringing and whilst he is fine with that, he misses a certain extra layer of meaning in everyday life. Whilst ‘Godsend’ focuses on other elements of life that bring meaning, the album closer ‘Fair’ perhaps alludes to the frustrations of finding your own morals and ideals might not make for the best life results. It is a sombre plod like an emo comedown and no one has cooked breakfast to perk you up. Intentionally downbeat to round off a fascinating collection of songs, I feel like we’ve experienced a middle act of play that hasn’t provided the conclusion.

Brevity is my only criticism of ‘Seashell Angel Lucky Charm’. Normally I’m all for an album that leaves me wanting for more but this one is done in under 20 minutes. That doesn’t take anything away from the sound and mood that Armlock nails. This is the perfect music for a comedown. You’ll be landing gracefully and respectfully in your own skin. I also found it perfect for when I was feeling overwhelmed and wanting to numb the intense feelings I had at the time. Armlock is the sad microfibre blanket of indie rock and sometimes you just need to wrap up tight and weather the storm.

Recommended track: Guardian

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