As I mentioned yesterday, I’m off to see Cole on Saturday at the Philharmonic in Liverpool, time to do a bit of last-minute revision!
This album was released in 2019 and saw Cole experimenting with adding electronica to his indie pop songs. The result is an album that took a few run-throughs to fully understand but gets better with repeated plays.
He has explored electronic music on a couple of albums previously but this was the first time he had used it as a primary driver alongside his guitar.
Tracks like ‘Night Sweats’ sound so unlike his usual output that it feels like Cole is a guest vocalist as opposed to the creator. It is a bold move and it works well.
Elsewhere, ‘Violins’ sees him singing dark lyrics over a track that could have been produced by Depeche Mode or even Erasure. It is quite the juxtaposition.
As he gets older, Cole now has a different perspective on experimentation and what success or failure looks like.
Talking about the album shortly before its release he said, “When I was 27, the concept of the washed-up older guy seemed very entertaining. Now I’m starting to think that old age could be a lot more fun. Because really what have we got to lose?”
This newfound freedom has resulted in a record that pushes boundaries for Cole but doesn’t really result in a must-have album, in is more interesting than essential.
What it did do was lay the foundation for his latest release ‘On Pain’ which expands and refines the music to deliver a really good album.
If you fancy a copy of this quirky album, it is available everywhere for about £20.
Tracks To Try: ‘Night Sweats’, ‘Violins’, ‘The Afterlife’, ‘Moments And Whatnot’, ‘When I Came Down From The Mountain’