DAVID COOK DISCOVERS A NEW AND DEEPER LEVEL OF PERSONAL HONESTY WITH EACH OF HIS RECORDINGS

Photo by Jake Harsh

Over the course of three albums, three Eps, and a fistful of singles, the 38-year-old winner of American Idol season 7 has evolved from his stance as a brooding young rocker into a confident, if complicated man. Gone is any hint of the glossy television program that propelled him to fame. It’s been replaced by rough-hewn swagger of a journeyman artist whose songs have become vivid, unflinching illustrations of his inner emotional life. Recent years have also seen him move from commercially conscious efforts to sonic experimentations that often reveal a restless spirit. With his new independent EP, “The Looking Glass,” Cook has effectively merged the full spectrum of experiences into a cohesive, wholly satisfying collection. It’s fascinating that these songs, his most accessible to date, are the result of almost total isolation.

“The record is largely defined by my experience during the pandemic,” Cook says. “Having to be inside by myself and come up with enough songs for a record forced me to lean on different sensibilities. I had a singular path to walk, and that allowed me to totally tune into how I wanted each song to sound without a lot of outside input. The result is a stronger narrative.”

The through line of “The Looking Glass” is, indeed, sharp. It opens with the bravado of “Champion,” which gives way to the jittery, guitar-laced panic of “Reds Turn Blue,” a song told from the unique POV of anxiety as it attacks the brain and body. From there, Cook travels inward into the struggles of healing (“Strange World,” “Fire”), ambition (“Make A Move”), and the ultimate will to live in a world of chaos (“Going Back”). It’s pure catharsis, etched with infectious melodies and bold, anthemic choruses.

“I want each record to have big dynamics.” he says. “I like feeling emotionally exhausted after listening to a record. I wanted this to have that, but I also want you to be willing and able to go back and listen again.”

One of the more intriguing elements of this mainstream-ready musical era is that it comes after Cook has already done the major label dance, and he has moved to indie life.

“I’ve had a complicated relationship with fame,” he says. “The tug of war between the success and the anxiety of the success is intense. I envy those who are able to take success as it come and not worry about what comes next. ‘How do I make it work again?’ That’s the nagging question, isn’t it? Whenever something good happens, the worry for me becomes ‘how will I screw it up?’ With time, I have embraced failure, in that it can motivate me. But I don’t think I’ve made peace with it.”

While Cook readily acknowledges that it’s easy to disappear into the inner turmoil of being creative, he admits that it can be more difficult to see how such angst can be a common denominator among most, if not all artists.

“There are moments when it’s clear that other artists feel the same way as I often do,” he says. “It’s heartening to realize that I’m not as odd as I think. But it’s all a game on some level, isn’t it? The goal is always to convey calm and a sense of being fully centered – especially around peers.”

Photo by Bobby Quillard

And especially when it comes to being an ambitious artist. Cook says that he now enjoys the indie life, but that makes the desire to capture that once-in-a-lifetime lightning in a bottle all the more palpable.

“Every time I hear a song a radio, I wonder, ‘why didn’t I write that?’ It’s a nagging feeling, for sure,” Cook says, adding that the good new is that “I still feel genuine joy toward that person for what they’ve accomplished. I know how hard it is make a record that you love that others do, too. I celebrate that accomplishment for others, but I will admit that it took me a while to separate another’s success with how it makes me feel. I feel at peace with the decisions I’ve made in my career.”

It certainly helps that Cook has an army of fans who track his every musical move. The purity and honesty of his approach to music continually sparks a passionate reaction that keeps his sales steady and his demand as a live performer strong. After a series of COVID dictated false starts and cancellations, he is planning to be back on the road this fall. But first, all ears and eyes are on “The Looking Glass,” and its effective storylinem of victory in the face of self-doubt. It’s a record that could only be made after the whirlwind of a career that has seen equal parts of success and failure.

“When I look at things objectively,” Cook says. “I’ve made the records that I’ve made accurately and appropriately. They were snapshots of who I was at the time. I listen to those early records, and I hear joy and greenness. Now I hear experience and curiosity – and even more joy, which is nice. Ultimately, even I wonder where I’ll go next, which is kinda fun.”

In the end, he says, “this isn’t math. There’s no end to the equation. I don’t like making the same record twice. So, we’ll all have to wait and see what’s on the horizon, because I don’t really know yet.”

MORE LARRY FLICK RECOMMENDATIONS

TIK TOK, YA DON’T STOP: Remember when the next big artists were heralded on the radio? Yeah, ask your parents about that. These days, voracious, yet attention-deficient young listeners are finding future stars in a variety of quirky venues – most notably Tik Tok. The social media app has fostered a wide range of talent that includes Powfu, Beabadoobee, and now PinkPantheress, a 20-year-old Londoner, who is the purveyor of a sound that she has described as “new nostalgic.”

PinkPantheress is intentionally stealth in sharing personal details, other than that she was born in Bath, UK. She writes and records all of her music in her dorm room in between classes at university. That’s about all she’s spilling, other than citing Lily Allen and Imogen Heap as influences.

PinkPantheress has teamed with producers Mura Mura for “Just for Me,” a bite-size, garage-flavored treat on which she charmingly chats, chants, and chirps. It’s a friendly gem that is equally accessible to kids and pop-smart adults. It’s the sixth in a series of singles that the artist has released since signing to Parlophone Records this year, and it’s showing signs of exploding from viral hits that range in the tens of millions onto the mainstream pop charts.

Like most tracks by Pink Pantheress up to this point, “Just for Me” clocks in at just under two minutes, focusing almost exclusively on a sticky sweet hook that demands obsessively repetitive plans. Clever stuff, indeed.

FEELING THE ‘PASSION’: Hardcore disciples of “Hedwig & the Angry Inch” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” have begun to gravitate toward an intriguing new musical theatre piece, “The Passion of Rev. Yolanda.” It tells the real-life story of the title character, an Alabama-bred, New York-based performance artist who has evolved from a traditional, if tumultuous Southern Baptist boyhood into mystical transgender-femme-queerdom. 

Upon introduction, it’s easy to anticipate cynical stabs at organized religion. The surprising pleasure of “Passion,” however, is its earnest conviction higher powers that encourage expansive human expression. It rejects the notion that faith and God-like figures are owned exclusively of hetero-normatives. Instead, Yolanda wraps herself in affecting images and memories that travel the spectrum of spiritually starved student, disaffected “alien,” and eventual messiah-like leader.

Prior to its official opening later this year, “The Passion of Rev. Yolanda” will be previewed with a six-song EP appetizer that leans heavily on Southern-fried rock and soul, with a heavy dollop of Rev. Yolanda’s gospel belting. The songs are a telling indication of the show, while managing to stand strong as individual, thoroughly infectious tracks. It’s the perfect way to expand her cult following to full-throttle mainstream obsession.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Larry Flick is a 35-plus year veteran of music and media. He first made his mark at Billboard magazine as a senior editor for 14 years. He then took to the airwaves of SiriusXM as a host and producer for 18 years. Along the way, he has also written for magazines that like Vibe and the Advocate, as well as consulting for artists that include Prince and KISS.