General Ratings:
Music: 6
Lyrics: 5
Scope: 4
Consistency: 7
RIYL: The Zombies, The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian
Further Listening: Cocoon, Club 8, This is Ivy League
Place of Origin: Umea, Sweden
Instrument/Sounds List: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocal Reverb, Piano, Harpsichord, Organ, Mandolin, Trumpet/Flugelhorn, Violin, Flute, Alternative Percussion (tambourine, claves, woodblock, guiro), Ambient Sounds
Mood Tones:
Season: Fall
Weather: Clear and Windy
Time of Day: Dusk
Song Highlights: The Looking Glass, The End of the Summer on Bookbinder Road, A Dream of Two Summers
Favorite Lyrics:
"The wind is in the birches/
On an empty afternoon/
And it feels as if I'm fading/
Into the colors of the room." (from "Hummin")
"But let us now move from the sweet taste
of a long summer's air/
Through Autumn's gentle unease
and winter's despair." (from "The Looking Glass")
"Where do I continue?/
With the fullness of the moon?/
Or the air that smelled of apples/
And September coming soon?" (from "The End of the Summer on Bookbinder Road")
Other Thoughts:
If you had told me before I listened to this album that it was released in 1967, that Cocoanut Groove had had a couple of low-charting singles and gone on tour with the Mamas and the Papas before dropping into relative obscurity, I'd have bought it hook, line and sinker. While there are a lot of contemporary bands that endeavor to recreate the lush melodies and production values of the late 60s, most wind up somewhere between posture and homage. While I haven't been able to track down much about CG's recording process, there is an air of authenticity that permeates pretty much every cut here, from the vague and romantic lyrics to the organ and harpsichord backdrops, to the clip clop woodblock percussion. Perhaps the only things that gives away the record's true birthdate is the overly crisp production, noticeable only in direct comparison to vintage cuts (which tend to sound a bit muddy even when remastered well), but even here the use of echo chamber (0r some analogous effect) nearly masks things.
These songs are all of a piece, and to score any higher on the consistency scale they'd need to limit their instruments and stop switching rhythms. One almost imagines them all being written in a short, productive burst, the entire record going from neuron to mylar in a matter of days. The thing about these recordings, about any retro-pop really, is that they remind you how nice a strong, simple melody can be. There can be so much artifice to cut through in contemporary production (often that seems to be the point) that upon making the effort to get a song undressed, one is often disappointed with what one finds.
The lyrics, while certainly being in line with average British Invasion fare, paint with all the same colors, which is both unifying and at times less exciting than it could be. Still, their consistency goes a long way toward sustaining the mood of quiet melancholy that is this album's signature. And honestly, why nitpick when an album is this forthright and easy on the ears?
Music: 6
Lyrics: 5
Scope: 4
Consistency: 7
RIYL: The Zombies, The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian
Further Listening: Cocoon, Club 8, This is Ivy League
Place of Origin: Umea, Sweden
Instrument/Sounds List: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocal Reverb, Piano, Harpsichord, Organ, Mandolin, Trumpet/Flugelhorn, Violin, Flute, Alternative Percussion (tambourine, claves, woodblock, guiro), Ambient Sounds
Mood Tones:
Season: Fall
Weather: Clear and Windy
Time of Day: Dusk
Song Highlights: The Looking Glass, The End of the Summer on Bookbinder Road, A Dream of Two Summers
Favorite Lyrics:
"The wind is in the birches/
On an empty afternoon/
And it feels as if I'm fading/
Into the colors of the room." (from "Hummin")
"But let us now move from the sweet taste
of a long summer's air/
Through Autumn's gentle unease
and winter's despair." (from "The Looking Glass")
"Where do I continue?/
With the fullness of the moon?/
Or the air that smelled of apples/
And September coming soon?" (from "The End of the Summer on Bookbinder Road")
Other Thoughts:
If you had told me before I listened to this album that it was released in 1967, that Cocoanut Groove had had a couple of low-charting singles and gone on tour with the Mamas and the Papas before dropping into relative obscurity, I'd have bought it hook, line and sinker. While there are a lot of contemporary bands that endeavor to recreate the lush melodies and production values of the late 60s, most wind up somewhere between posture and homage. While I haven't been able to track down much about CG's recording process, there is an air of authenticity that permeates pretty much every cut here, from the vague and romantic lyrics to the organ and harpsichord backdrops, to the clip clop woodblock percussion. Perhaps the only things that gives away the record's true birthdate is the overly crisp production, noticeable only in direct comparison to vintage cuts (which tend to sound a bit muddy even when remastered well), but even here the use of echo chamber (0r some analogous effect) nearly masks things.
These songs are all of a piece, and to score any higher on the consistency scale they'd need to limit their instruments and stop switching rhythms. One almost imagines them all being written in a short, productive burst, the entire record going from neuron to mylar in a matter of days. The thing about these recordings, about any retro-pop really, is that they remind you how nice a strong, simple melody can be. There can be so much artifice to cut through in contemporary production (often that seems to be the point) that upon making the effort to get a song undressed, one is often disappointed with what one finds.
The lyrics, while certainly being in line with average British Invasion fare, paint with all the same colors, which is both unifying and at times less exciting than it could be. Still, their consistency goes a long way toward sustaining the mood of quiet melancholy that is this album's signature. And honestly, why nitpick when an album is this forthright and easy on the ears?
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