When I Was Good is a sparse, evocative, elegiac, haunting collection of songs written by John Robertson, and recorded with his brother William Robertson. Think Scott Walker singing Joy Division, Arcade Fire remixed by Boards of Canada, the Blue Nile produced by Mogwai. Uncompromising on all levels, the album is littered with unconventional time signatures, abrasive tonal textures and stark, powerful arrangements with little regard for conventional song structure.
Luxury Car are John and Willy Robertson, two brothers from Perth, Scotland; they have been in bands together since they were at school, and took their name from Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo 66. They are, technically, an electronic pop duo; however they don’t sound remotely like the Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, Sparks, Erasure, or Goldfrapp. They are not nostalgic for the 1980s, or 1970s Berlin (or 1930s Berlin for that matter).
John sings. He is lanky and awkward, but with the cheeky, wry humour and edgy stage presence of a young Bernard Sumner. With better cheekbones. Willy, his brother, is a big bear of a man who makes beautiful, exciting, unexpected sounds with a theremin and a laptop.