The difficult thing to accept if you're someone who is obsessed with music is knowing that as hard as you work to discover as much great, new music as possible, there are always gonna be some amazing artists and albums that pass you by. One of those fantastic albums that seems to have passed me by was the debut album from a guy called Thomas Cohen. Thankfully, one of my favorite new bands at the minute, Inheaven, saved me from the possibility of Cohen's album completely passing me by. The band made a Spotify playlist called "Inheaven's Songs Of 2016", which contains all their favorite songs from the year (from other bands). The seventh track on the playlist was called "Hazy Shades" by a singer-songwriter named Thomas Cohen and I was mesmerized.
When I first heard the song, I was immediately intrigued and I knew it had unique qualities that I had never been exposed to before. I just remember immediately looking up the song on YouTube afterwards and bookmarking it to make sure that I would listen to it again (because I can rarely ever completely wrap my head around a song after just one listen) and if I still really liked it after several more listens, then I could eventually go on to research more of Cohen's music. And it turns out, after a few more plays of the song, I fell in love with it and decided to first seek out all the singles that he'd released so far, which is a common practice for me when I find a new artist that I like.
I soon found out that he'd only released one album called Bloom Forever, which was released in May earlier this year, and he was the lead singer of a post-punk/art rock band that broke up called S.C.U.M. It turns out that they also had only released one album, but their work sounds much different than Cohen's solo material. Then, I sadly learned that it appeared that it wasn't Cohen's musical work that he was predominately known for. He was the husband of the now deceased TV personality and model Peaches Geldof, daughter of famous musician Bob Geldof. Geldof died in 2014 of a heroin overdose and the couple had two sons together. So, naturally one would think after the breakup of his band and the passing of his wife that Cohen's album would be depressing and introspective, but it's actually a surprisingly uplifting and optimistic record.
The songs on this album were written over the several year period after Cohen's band fizzled out in 2012. Cohen began work on the album before the death of his wife in 2014, so in the middle of writing the album, there were doubts of whether it would ever be finished or if he would ever go back to music again. However, last year, Cohen ventured over to Reykjavik, Iceland to finish writing and recording the album and he called it a very "liberating" and said that it was the first time he really gained some sense of himself after what happened."
The press release from his record label says that the album was inspired by the works of singer-songwriters, Townes Van Zandt, Judee Sill, Van Morrison and Jim Sullivan, but there are so many other things going on in this record that are hard to ignore. For me, I hear definite elements of Lou Reed (Berlin), Serge Gainesbourg and David Bowie (Low) that run throughout the record. So, although Bloom Forever could easily be an Americana, singer-songwriter album from the 70's, it's also got something modern and quintessentially British about the songwriting as well. Now, I'll take you through this perfect masterpiece of an album, track by track.
"Honeymoon" is the album's lead track and it was the first song written for the album. It's a slow, somber opening with rolling drums and a prominent, but a bit strange saxophone solo. However, the six-minute monster of a song couldn't have just one solo. It also has an incredible, indulgent guitar solo that uplifts the song from a dreamy, hazy stroll to an epic, emotional quest.
The next track, "Bloom Forever" was written in the hospital on the day his son, Phaedra, was born and the track was named after his son's middle name. Like "Honeymoon" it begins slowly and has a nice, trotting bassline throughout the song. This song, in particular, is where Cohen's unique vocal style and "sweet charm" take center stage. When he sings lines like "lonely weather" and "living together", you really get a sense of his Lou Reed-esque tone of voice. And if you thought the guitar solo from the lead track was good, you'll basically weep when you hear this one.
"Morning Fall" is the album's lush third track and although it's quite an upbeat song in the context of this album, there's a sense when you listen to it that there's something darker that's looming that hasn't quite hit the listener yet (and that doesn't actually come until two tracks later).
The following track is "Hazy Shades", which, of course, was the first song that got me hooked on Thomas Cohen's music. It continues side one's pattern of relative optimism, beauty, and defiance. Cohen sings "even though the sun is coming out / hazy shades all come home" and again there's this underlying sense that things are going to take a turn for the worst for the narrator. And it's not a direct reference to his real life tragedy, but it's because of the repeated lyrical theme (especially in the album's first four tracks) of optimism and hope in the face of despair. The listener is now waiting for this inevitable despair to kick in.
Things start to get heavy on the fifth track, "Country Home." In this song, Cohen references the actual moment that he found his wife, Peaches, dead in their home in April 2014. The soothing song opens with the line, "sleeping alone / no strength to go on / back to our country home / the one where we belong." It sounds like Cohen is slowly starting to come to grips with the absence of his spouse though he acknowledges the difficulty of returning to normal, everyday life. Unsurprisingly, the entire song is hauntingly beautiful and I imagine it to be one of the most difficult circumstances that any songwriter would have to write in. In another line, Cohen sings, "longing unknown / to find you alone / at the top of the stairs / in your wedding dress / my love is gone / turning so cold / keep your eyes closed." The lyrics are accompanied by this wonderful, slow bassline, evocative backing vocals, mellow drums, and a sweet and tender acoustic guitar. Later, Cohen mentions that terrible moment again with the line, "but you know all along / you couldn't make it through / couldn't make it through." That particular line has this dramatic, air-punching break in tempo that uplifts the track and it's easily one of the best moments on the album.
The next track, "Ain't Gonna Be No Rain", allows for some sunshine to begin to peak through the clouds by bringing some hopeful lyrics and bright piano playing to the mix. The chorus is one of the strongest on the album, with some great female backing vocals for good measure. "New Morning Comes" is the following track and the piano remains at the forefront again. The song contains the album's strongest bassline. It's simply infectious and it does not, by any means, get lost among the rest of the instruments. Cohen's vocals open with the phrase, "drinking Coca-Cola" and it's here that his unusual vocal tone is especially apparent. The lines "I know the sun's still shining on / even though it's cold" and "will you be there to hold my hand as the sea becomes the storm" both demonstrate Cohen's optimism and apprehension of moving on with the next chapter of his life. The chorus shows Cohen's venture away from the Americana vibe as it's just British pop songwriting at its finest.
The second to last track, "Only Us" continues the piano trend, but pushes it to center stage. No loud bass, drums or guitar present here. It's a return to the somber sound of "Country Home" and "Honeymoon", as it's the quietest song on the record. Cohen really thrives with this touching ballad and he pleads, "I can go anywhere / only us."
The final track is a song called "Mother Mary" and though it's not the main attraction, the piano remains, but the bass, drums, and guitar make their return. The track is uncharacteristically underwhelming for the first two or three minutes, but once the line, "don't you know I'm too tired to drive / Mother Mary oh my / I tried to say goodbye / I slipped out of line / Mother Mary oh my / I tried to say goodbye" comes out, it really is the perfect grand finale that the album truly craved. The strings come through and there's this epic, otherworldly solo that bookends such a strong, unique and extremely candid debut album.
I don't know if it's the best album of the year, but it's an obvious contender. It has brilliant songwriting that any musician at any point in their career would be envious of. You can listen to the album on Youtube in full here and you won't regret that you did. It may take you three or four listens to fully wrap your head around it like me, but let me whole-heartedly promise you that it's absolutely worth it. A modern classic.
