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| Andy Cook by Mariah Crabb |
EP Review / Interview
By Henry Lipput
Modern Man is the latest EP from the Minnesota-based singer-songwriter, Andy Cook. It follows 2017's In Space EP and is an example of what Cook describes in the interview below as an evolving sound as well as an artist continuing to find his musical voice.
Each song on the EP may have been influenced by a genre like 60s surf, 80s pop, or contemporary indie rock; but they all have a sound specific to what Cook brings to the table.
The first song, "Swirl," is an indie-pop gem with an earwig of a melody. There's some swell guitar work, including an especially terrific solo, and some fine drumming from Al Church. "Red Lights" has more than a little jangle in the mix and nice synth flourishes.
One of my favorites on the EP is "Places We'll Go," a lovely, countrified, acoustic ballad. I really like the line "You reached for the moon and you lit the stars."
"Run" is a sad lament for the end of a relationship: "Don't stop to say goodbye / Don't think or else you'll cry / You've got to run." Cook’s voice, with its Mid-Western drawl, not unlike Gary Cooper's, hides the hurt behind the words.
After a the quiet interlude of "Modern Man (Intro)," "Modern Man" rocks out with some fuzzed guitar. "What is a man?" the song asks, the vocals backed with Dave Edmunds-style licks, some organ from the Steve Nieve playbook, and the seemingly long-forgotten use of handclaps (a very nice touch) to the rhythm track.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Cook by email about the new EP, his recording process, and his plans for touring.
Henry Lipput: Congratulations on the Modern Man EP. I'm really enjoying it. I was wondering what you've listened to when growing up and before you made the EP. You have some really neat stuff going on musically.
Andy Cook: To be completely honest, I didn't listen to music much at all growing up. I was a hockey player (goalie), and that is really all I did or thought about.
It was only recently, in the last six or so years, that I really started listening and then making music. I began by listening to 89.3 The Current in Minnesota, and I got tuned in to the local music scene. As I listened, I wanted to be able to make music too, so I started learning the guitar — that was in 2012.
Early on, I was really into Americana and folk stuff, artists like Jake Bugg as an example. More recently — and leading up to the recording of the EP — I was listening to a lot of HALEY, Angel Olsen, and The Strokes. I feel like I'm constantly finding my sound and evolving both in what I like to listen to and what I like to make. My bandmates also influence me a lot, particularly Jeremy Ylvisaker who taught me how to play guitar (still does) and produced the EP.
Modern Man has a fuller sound than your previous EP, In Space. Is that because you felt the songs needed it or you had the means to pump things up?
AC: I'd say it's more of the second, that I had more musical knowledge and more direction to drive that sound.
Your website says that the recording was made "live to tape." It seems that there may have been musicians other than you in the room. Or was it "live to tape" one layer at a time?
AC: There were! The songs were all done as full band takes, with myself on guitar and vocals, Kate Murray on synth and vocals, Zach Brose on guitar, Cooper Doten on bass, and Al Church on drums.
After we got a good band take, we'd listen back and add more guitar parts, percussion, or vocals to create the layers. So underneath it all is a live band take, and then we built specific components on top of that. All of this was done at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota — an amazing studio run by an amazing engineer, Nick Tveitbakk.
You've done two dates on the East Coast for the release of Modern Man, and your website lists a club date coming up in Minneapolis. Are you planning to tour behind the EP?
AC: Hopefully! That's one of the challenges of being a new musician: figuring out the best way to tour and how to make a splash in places I haven't been before. I'm very lucky to have the support of Good Eye Records; and, at the very least, I'll have some Midwest dates for later in the summer and fall. I'll make it back out to the East Coast again, too!
On the shows you've done so far, how has the audience response been? Are there any crowd favorites?
AC: It's been great! People really seem to enjoy the songs, and I very much appreciate that I can be myself on stage and people accept and like that. I'm not like a super cool rock star or anything. Let's just be honest. "Swirl" is usually the first song we play and gets crowd interest, and "Run" is one that people really seem to like — especially when we make the noise stuff at the end. "Modern Man (part 2)" is also a fun one, and "Places We'll Go" seems to be a crowd favorite at every show.
Modern Man is your second EP. Do you think the next release may be an album?
AC: Well, I'm already writing more songs and thinking through how I want my sound to continue to evolve. So we'll see! I also like the idea of focusing on a smaller number of songs and giving them as much effort as possible. In today's music environment, I think it can be hard to get attention across a whole album, so it's going to be a balance of creativity and strategy, frankly. At the end of the day, I'm beyond grateful that I can play an instrument, write songs, and share them with others. Whether it be one song or one hundred, it's a privilege I'll never take for granted!
Thanks, Andy. Good luck with the EP.
AC: You're welcome, and thank you for the chance to do an interview!
Modern Man is out now on Good Eye Records.
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