Good Neighbours’ ‘Blue Sky Mentality’ goes for DOPAMINE OVER Depth

Good Neighbours, British indie pop duo. Image credit: Isaac Lamb, Chuff Media

We could all use a dose of dopamine right now, and ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ has bucketfuls to share.

Haven’t heard of Good Neighbours? Yes you have. If you’ve opened Instagram in the last year, chances are you’ve listened to the ultra-viral chorus from debut hit ‘Home’, which (at time of writing) is approaching 475,000,000 streams. 

 If Circa Waves, MGMT and Surfaces gathered in a studio together, the result might sound something like Good Neighbours – some hybrid of California-surf, feelgood electronica, indie pop. With today’s release of their first full-length studio album, the British duo are here to show they’re not a (mega) one-hit wonder. Certainly, they’ve succeeded, with a solid debut that pushes out sunbeams and daisies like there’s no tomorrow.

‘Blue Sky Thinking’ is light, bright and fun. Does it offer anything more? Not really. Read our full review below.

Good Neighbours: ‘Blue Sky Mentality’ Album Artwork. Image credit: Polydor Records

“The British duo are here to show they’re not a (mega) one-hit wonder. Certainly, they’ve succeeded, with a solid debut that pushes out sunbeams and daisies like there’s no tomorrow.”

Good Neighbours have made their album a clear celebration of freedom, youth, and connection.

From cutesy ukulele-driven ‘Starry Eyed’ to end-of-the-film, montage-style ‘Wonderful Life’, the tracks are all playlist-ready. The roof-down airiness of ‘Kids Can’t Sleep’ will find an easy home next to the likes of ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ and Royal Otis’ ‘Who’s Your Boyfriend.’ The sparkling nostalgia of ‘Small Town’ will ease in alongside ‘Electric Love’ and ‘Sweet Disposition’.

And yet, the songs as a collective seem to blend into each other. The album picks a buoyant starting point and never strays far from it. ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ feels more like a string of singles, and that’s essentially what it is, with 7 of the 14 tracks out already. When half the album has been heard before its official release, something of the buildup is lost. Instead of ‘listening to an album’, the experience feels more like ‘filling in the gaps’.

Is that a problem? Not necessarily. Because ‘the gaps’ are good, and most could hold their own as singles too. ‘Skipping Stones’ will have listeners grasping for the last clutches of summer. Jaunty, whistling ‘Walk, Walk, Walk’ could seamlessly find itself in Ibiza DJ sets, beach parties, rooftop bars, and viral remixes. 

If euphoria is the aim, it’s achieved, though it doesn’t take the length of the album to reach it. There’s not much of a journey to go on here. ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ starts happy, and more or less stays that way through the entire tracklist. There are angrier lyrics tucked between the kick drums and synths: ‘The world’s on fire’ / ‘It’s a bad dream I’d rather forget’ – but most of the time, they’re buried under by the gas-pedal push towards optimism.

The last track, ‘The Buzz’, is where things take an unexpected, sharp turn. It could be the album’s best song, it could just be the novelty of something different. Over rich piano and melancholic strings, Oli Fox – finally – pours his heart out: ‘I’ve been anything but alive since we pulled the plug / ‘It’s driving home the long way, ‘cause I don’t want to see your house.’ Where did this side of Good Neighbours spring from? And where has it been hiding the whole album?

‘Buzz’ flips everything upside down, likely unintentionally. Rounding off a project titled ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ with a heart-wrenching ballad that offers no happy ending or even silver lining seems like a backpedal, even undermining the ‘it will work out in the end’ philosophy that functions as the album’s backbone. But this is the song that carries real depth. Its minimal production and sombre sound is totally different from what we’ve come to expect from Good Neighbours – and hopefully we’ll get to hear more of it.

‘Blue Sky Mentality’: Indie Pop With Rose-Tinted Glasses On

Good Neighbours clearly know how to inject their songs with sunshine, but this album seems to be missing a clear narrative that reaches beyond ‘everything’s gonna be ok’.

“Good Neighbours clearly know how to inject their songs with sunshine, but this album seems to be missing a clear narrative that reaches beyond ‘everything’s gonna be ok’.”

The phrase ‘too much of a good thing’ seems relevant for ‘Blue Sky Thinking’. We all need escapism in our music, and songs that lift our spirits, but after ~35 minutes of nothing but, they lose their punch. It’s clear that Good Neighbours have some clouds in their sky, as we all do, and they’ve hinted at an ability to paint them just as well. If Fox and Scott Verrill explored those darker skies too, rather than try to blow all the clouds away, their next body of work will offer a more interesting, lasting sound, with ‘happy hits’ that deliver greater impact. No rainbow without the rain, and all that.

Still, we could all use a dose of dopamine right now, and ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ has bucketfuls to share. Catch Good Neighbours on their UK & Ireland tour in February 2026 for what promises to be an energetic live show, with tickets on sale now.