We're nearing the end of the year and even though there is still enough time for new music, I've already chosen my own personal album of this year. Louis Cole's Time feels like it was made personally for me. He has a lot of quirk to his music and if you are familiar with Thundercat then his work will feel like coming home but the twist is you live in Miami instead of Atlanta.
Cole is a multi-instrumentalist and half of Knower, an electronic duo, with Genevieve Artadi. Cole is quite skillful with the drums, keyboard and various other instruments he employs throughout the album. There's a great flow to it as it starts out energetically with the track, In The Weird Part of The Night. On this song, Cole has lyrics such as "It's hard to be fake with nobody else awake." addressing the freedom of late-night hours spent alone. Personally, I feel as though my best work comes from those moments, where the weight of the world is absent.
Cole is very relatable as an artist and in very subtle ways. A good example is Bank Account a great minute and a half long track about the fears of checking your bank account (This single was not included on the LP). It's not that these ideas aren't discussed at all in music but little things like that the everyday person can relate to.
I'll admit, initially, I cherrypicked the album, listening to Phone, Things and A Little Bit More Time exclusively. I played these tracks for what seemed like perpetually. I was completely entranced by their catchy, quirky nature. The theme of the song Things, in particular, embodies one of my most important mantras: accepting the fact that you cannot control the world around you but that's not always a bad thing. Then, I decided to dive into a few more tracks, this time listening to Tunnels in The Air, After The Load is Blown and When You're Ugly. Eventually listening to the entire thing only disliking "Night" as it seems like the weakest song on the LP.
When talking about this album, I feel the need to go over the video game-esque sounds that are incorporated. I love video games probably more than the next guy but I hate the constant involvement of video games in other forms of media. Luckily, Louis Cole much like Thundercat does not try to hit you over the head with his video game influences. It doesn't feel like they are trying to pander to you but rather they're big fans themselves.
If you're looking for something a bit different but catchy, I definitely recommend this album. It has everything you could possibly want. Tracks to dance to, tracks to cry to and some lyrics that are bound to get a chuckle out of you. I'm very much looking forward to Louis Cole's future as an artist and I hope there will be much more to come.
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