“I’ve been doing the folky-country acoustic guitar thing for a while, but I noticed at a recent gig that… no one really stood out. So I wanted to get away from that for a while,” Paul Cook of Paul Cook & The Chronicles told me this summer, “…I’m trying to bring back some of that Indie Pop vibe.”
Cook’s intentions may not sound overly ambitious, but when this prolific British singer-songwriter decides to accomplish something, he does it with both quality and quantity. He formed his solo project Paul Cook and The Chronicles only in 2011, and since then has released three albums, and most recently two EPs. Cook takes the liberty of incorporating a large variety of elements and instruments in his music, himself labeling it just “alternative,” while being highly influenced by Simon & Garfunkel, Elliot Smith, and Kurt Vile. And despite Cook’s numerous releases, the promotion of his recordings remains minimal; like so many great musicians today, their work is hidden on the internet in plain sight.
I first stumbled upon Cook’s music online, while tag surfing Bandcamp last winter, searching for anything related to the holiday season or Christmas. I liked his tune “Wood on the Fire” so much that I opened my holiday mix CD with it, and when he got in touch with me the following spring about his upcoming EPs, I was like a kid on Christmas morning! These two EPs – 7 songs – are quite the treat, as his intricate acoustic guitar imitating American folk or country stylings gives way to more produced, electronic, and instrumental compositions, propelling him distinctly into the pop genre. Helping him in this transition was Todd Roache of The Heart Strings, who produced and co-wrote tracks on both EPs. They are idealistic, optimistic, (hopelessly) romantic, and yet also conflicted and emotional. His voice leans toward the melancholy, the tone well-fitted for the intimacy of sad musings and quiet thoughts, but his versatility in style is put to use on singles “Radar” and “A Real Thunderbolt,” anthems of hopeful possibility and falling in love.
Both the Radar EP and the Thunderbolt EP are full of secret proclamations: the songs listened to alone in bedrooms, on walks through the city, and late at night in coffee shops – but never shared with that one other person they are about (You might not even be on their radar.) The personal connection and intimacy this inspires is unique, the songs becoming part of the fabric, the soundtrack, of your life. Perhaps you might share them on a mix CD with a very specific person that you trust will appreciate “A Real Thunderbolt” as much you. Or maybe you’ll keep it to yourself a little while longer, just to make sure.
Cook is a master of simple, yet deeply honest and poignant words, not only about romance, but about issues in other important relationships. In “Upstairs Room,” Cook struggles to regain a friendship that was used or under-appreciated, confessing, “people come and people go / the trouble is sometimes you don’t know who is meant for you… please let me in, cause I won’t always have friends like you.” His honesty and his composition are equally heartbreaking, most notably in the song “Destroyer,” with minimal guitar and vocals that profess the pain of knowing one’s own power or ability to hurt another person.
Ranging from the dark concept of “Destroyer” to the utter euphoria of falling in love in “A Real Thunderbolt,” Cook covers a multitude of emotions and experiences in just 7 songs on 2 back-to-back EPs. His only (and best) failure is that he doesn’t stay within the expected conventions of indie pop, which means he won’t be on any top radio stations soon, but instead is on his way to being listed with the likes of his very own musical influences.
Want to hear more? Check out Paul’s long list of tunes on Soundcloud and his Bandcamp.
Send Paul some love! Visit his Facebook page or send him a thought on Twitter.
Portions of this article are lifted from the previous article: “…on your Radar (EP)” by The Aural Premonition.