COOL TRIPS – GIVE ME THE LIGHT

I heard this a while ago, it got sent to me, I dug/dig'd it, I still dig it, but I never got around to writing about it. Why? I dunno. Literals don't know. Just one of those things that just escapes the mind. Sievelike stuff, I know. But the important thing is that I'm here rn writing this. To tell you the truth, I've actually been getting this song, or at least parts of it, stuck in my head in a kind of occasional earworm that lasts for as long as it lasts for (it would be really difficult to measure how long a song is stuck in your head for – somebody needs to do some more research on this). Anyway, that's a good sign isn't it? So, getting it in my head just a few minutes ago, I finally relented and just thought to damn well sit down and do some damn writing about it.

So what is this and who is it by? It's by Cool Trips who is from Portland and who is actually called Matthew (maybe Matt) Scott and he's uploaded just one song to SoundCloud called 'Give Me The Light' but it's a very good song. Like I said, it's been in and out of my head since I first heard it a couple of weeks ago. Let's listen.

It's a total mix: funky with wah-wah guitar twiddlings, yet there's a dub reggae feel thanks to its slow offbeat rhythm and the syncopated piano chords, and an overriding feel of what is basically post-chillwave with a smooth fluidity that is wholly conducive to a laid-back vibe. Cutesy blips appear as ornamentations throughout as the vocals do their thing, their very catchy thing (yeah that's where all the hooks are at), singing soulfully in a faraway manner, almost lamenting at times – especially when the near-shiver-inducing chorus kicks in with the elastically pleading "I don't want it to be over / Is there nothing I can do?", and the fatalistic "It's not me… It's not you" simultaneously full of feeling and style.

So that was that. How do you feel about it? I really like it. He's doing something new with pop, with indie, putting hooks in amongst thickets of styles and sounds and letting you go in yourself and have a look for them without being obvious at all – exciting! And for a first song (ever?) it is even more impressive. Hopefully there will be more to come from Cool Trips – keep yer ears open!!

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Listen to Cool Trips on SoundCloud
Follow Cool Trips on Twitter

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