The Damage - Looking Glass EP (2025)
The Damage: Neo-Psychedelic Britpop Forged in a French Château Cellar
There is a certain perverse thrill in discovering a band that defies geographical expectation. The Damage, a Parisian quartet, makes music so steeped in the lineage of English indie rock and Britpop that their provenance feels almost like a delightful contradiction. Their debut EP, Looking Glass, is not an exercise in homage but a genuine, visceral claim to a sonic heritage, recorded in the most unlikely of sanctuaries: the former cellars of the Château du PortHublé, near Saintes.
Emerging from the Parisian live circuit in December 2023, the band wasted little time. They entered the studio a year later, in December 2024, armed with precision and urgency. The result, captured over three days with minimal overdubs, is a document of raw ensemble energy. The mixing and mastering were entrusted to Ofir, a sound engineer whose work here ensures the analogue warmth of the session is not lost. The EP breathes; it does not suffocate under digital sterility.
Track-by-Track: An Anatomy of a Debut
The four tracks on Looking Glass are not filler. They are deliberate, crafted statements that oscillate between frantic energy and spectral calm.
- “Looking Glass”: The opener sets the stage with an instantly infectious, punchy riff and an upbeat tempo. The songwriting here is taut and fervent. Comparisons to the jangly urgency of The Smiths’ “What Difference Does It Make” and the pure melodic drive of The La’s “I Can’t Sleep” are not hyperbolic but precise. It is, in essence, exquisitely British in its DNA.
- “The Blame”: A darker beast. The track initiates with a tense, almost threatening bass-and-drum pulse—a hypnotic pursuit. Guitars stack and layer beneath the vocal line with deceptive restraint, only to detonate into a psychedelic fireworks display that channels the majestic, sprawling energy of The Verve’s Northern Soul era. The riff here carries the warped, angular DNA of the Soft Boys. The Damage, as a band, truly earns its name on this track: it is a landscape of glorious conflict.
- “The Choice”: A necessary exhale. This ballad is built on beautifully interwoven arpeggios, a calm and ethereal surface that belies a deep, angular guitar line accumulating in counterpoint. The song is a breath of fresh air, a moment of quiet psychedelia where the band allows the song to weep gently. It evokes the delicate restraint of the best slow-burn indie records.
- “The Guy With Glasses”: The EP’s closing salvo is an uptempo psychedelic gem. The chromatic riffs are unmistakably rooted in the canon of the Soft Boys and the eccentric, genius chaos of Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd (Interstellar Overdrive, Lucifer Sam). The vocal harmonies carry that same Barrett-esque, unhinged vibrancy, bringing the record to a close on a note of thrilling instability.
Conclusion: A Promise Etched in Analog
Looking Glass is a debut that does not simply imitate its influences but refines them through a lens of neo-psychedelic fervor. The Damage have delivered four catchy, impeccably written tracks that feel both timeless and utterly present. It is a strong foundation upon which to build—a record that begs for a follow-up EP and, eventually, a full-length album. For now, the cellars of a French château have given birth to something that sounds remarkably like the next wave of classic English rock. Listen, and believe the contradiction.
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