When the man himself describes his latest single as “… probably the very essence of what you’ve come to expect from me,” you know that you will be heading into some fantastic sonic territory. Why? Well, because although Phil has always moved through the musical landscape with ease, from pop top folk to rock to indie, and of course is now best known as being one-third of The Lost Trades, there is a core sound that he has always done so well. We find him reveling in that sound on “Still Holding My Breath.”
I’ll get it out of the way right from the start. The sonic elephant in the music room, a point of reference I have long made, which may raise a few eyebrows in some quarters perhaps, but Phil has an uncanny ability to, if not precisely sound like, certainly capture the same essence as Crowded House, a band that I hold dear.
“Still Holding My Breath” walks that same line between poised pop and accessible acoustical, Phil breathes fresh air into the singer-songwriter stance by remembering that the keyword is the second part of the phrase, songwriter, and that requires anyone operating under such a mantle be able to turn out great songs. And this is undoubtedly one.
He does not find his hook in any clever gimmick or studio gadget. This isn’t a case of layering up the song with additional sonics to make it more immediate or attractive (qualities that the song actually needs no help with). There is no deception here, no style over substance mendacity at work. The appeal is simple: the right chords, relatable lyrics, and a great delivery.
Phil Cooper has always traded in simple sonic truths. It’s what he does, and he does it so well. More people should try it.
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