A stunning and shimmering new collection of theatrical pop was released by Cosmic Crooner to start the month of right and musical, ‘European Vacation’ brings inspirations taken from David Axelrod, Marvin Gaye and the golden age of Bossa Nova together seamlessly.
His album opener is the slow burning ‘Never Wear Your Own Merch’ and it sets the tone for this refined and introspective collection of stunning ethereal tracks. We hear the smooth sounds of keys and feel the vibrations of his voice, thick as honey, and lean back to let ‘European Vacation’ wash over us. The songs on this long player flow into one other as if they are one, yet all bringing their own charm to the mix. ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘The Girl Who Sold a Lie’ play with soft confidence, while ‘The Balcony’ and ‘Mosquito in the Photo Booth’ hint at a little more energy and an almost jovial sound.
Cosmic Crooner awakens the holiday senses on ‘Dov’è Giovanni?’ and brings them back on ‘Rebeccula’. He’s made sure to create a series of sounds that transport its listener to somewhere “more fabulous”. He’s created an escape in the form of music, bringing luscious and luxurious sonic soundscapes that echo on a long time after they’ve finished playing. On his new album, Cosmic Crooner says; “I wanted to make a timeless album, I love Brazilian music, progressive soul from the ’70s and jazz. I’ve tried to incorporate my inspirations into this world”. And a new world he’s certainly created with this suave and refreshing, colourful and dynamic album.
The charming Brazilian influences are most adamant on ‘Lennon DJ’, which is another softly shimmering piece of sunshine. A collection of sounds that makes me feel like we’re sipping caipirinha’s on a terrace on the Brazilian coast. Our Crooner truly knows how to transcends through music and sounds and creates pockets of paradise with his well-produced creations. If his songs do have a physical base, it’d be Crooners Bay, “a dreamscape referred to in the tragicomic ‘Private Club’. I sing about being stuck in Crooners Bay in ‘Private Club’, I say that I don’t want to be stuck there. But, when you hear the song, it’s clear that, really, you’d be happy to be stuck there. It’s a place where you can be sad. Feeling sad, it can be quite special.” Of all his poetic lyrics and stances, this is the one I agree with most.
‘In Love’ is this album’s bittersweet sounding closer, and listens like a door that slowly closes, potentially a room in which we’ve started listening to the world Cosmic Crooner invited us to. Despite its softness, ‘In Love’ feels heavy, listens like a breakup, amplified by theatrical keys and his subtle voice leading us by our hand out of this world we’ve come acquainted with as we listened through ‘European Vacation’. This album offers more than a listening experience, it’s musical therapy, and a journey we’re glad we can go on again and again and again.
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