Chris Cohen: Overgrown Path [Album Review]

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Chris Cohen
Overgrown Path
Captured Tracks [2012]

You may not know the name Chris Cohen yet, but anybody who has followed indie music for the past decade is familiar with the bands he has been in and played with. The list reads like an indie who’s who and includes Deerhoof, Cass McCombs, and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, to name the most prominent. As is often the case when a sideman goes solo, we find that Cohen’s music doesn’t necessarily sound like any of the bands he has been in. Instead, he works in more of a low-key/mid-tempo vein, with melodies that call to mind 70’s era Beach Boys or a more contemporary artist such as Kelley Stoltz. It’s also important to note that Cohen plays all the music himself on Overgrown Path, so it is a true “solo” record, and any success or failure falls squarely on his shoulders. Cohen is more than up to the challenge.

What struck me immediately about the record was Cohen’s bass playing on “Solitude.” He serves up fat bass lines like Brian Wilson (or Carol Kaye, whoever was playing on the session) that recall the greatness of Beach Boys tracks like “Don’t Talk” or “Sloop John B.” Elsewhere on the track, there is a haunting piano line played over just some background noise that really helps to set the solitary mood, which is only driven home further by Cohen’s haunting and lonesome vocal. Another perfect example of this is on the next-to-last track, “Don’t Look Today,” which starts slow and moody before kicking into an uptempo gear after about a minute. This is as close as Overgrown Path comes to sounding like Ariel Pink, and it’s a stunning shift.

The closing track, “Open Theme,” reminded me immediately of one of those great Dennis Wilson weepers off Carl and the Passions – So Tough, with its sparse piano, light drums, and impossibly gorgeous harmony. It’s the best track on the record, and the one that is going to make you want to hit repeat over and over. It’s a really cool track, and it’s hard to believe that Cohen recorded this by himself.

Captured Tracks is really putting out some of the coolest music right now, and is probably my favorite label of the moment. It’s to the point now where if they are putting it out, you know it’s going to be good. Chris Cohen’s Overgrown Path is yet another winner. I don’t know how they are doing it, but let’s hope they keep it up. As for Chris Cohen, this is the record that is going to move him out from the shadows and put him directly in the spotlight.

Key Tracks: “Solitude” / “Open Theme” / “Don’t Look Today”

Artists With Similar Fire: Beach Boys / Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti / Kelley Stoltz

Kevin Poindexter
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