-
- April 2, 2022
corook Releases Debut EP, “achoo!”
On March 4th, “self-described ‘singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and huge fuckin’ dork’” corook released her debut EP, achoo! Full of a mature mix of seriousness and humor, achoo! shows off corook’s songwriting ability in the best way possible. While the tracklist cohesion seems a little off at points – going from opener “idk god” into “degree” (which you can read our review of here) is a little confusing – most of the EP covers corook’s life experiences in a brutally honest way that gives an amazing picture of her as a person outside of the music.
The production on this EP is very indie pop, and it sounds good throughout the EP’s full runtime. The instrumentals are normally focused on electronic instruments – synthesizers, keyboards, electronic drums – and corook’s vocals, and they’re mixed in a way that allows those lyrics to shine through the occasionally dense instrumentals. I say occasionally because the instrumentals are normally sparse enough to let the lyrics shine while being dense enough to be an interesting instrumental. The balancing act is an incredible sign of where corook is as a songwriter and producer, and this is just her debut.
However, as I’ve mentioned multiple times throughout this review, the lyrics are what truly make achoo! corook’s. The instrumentals are unique, yes – particularly “tequila,” which has some incredible production and interesting grooves – but these lyrics are that mix of lighthearted and humorous while being simultaneously devastating that was apparent from corook’s debut single, “sims,” which serves as the closer of the EP. Through the lyrics, corook lays her soul completely bare for the audience, sometimes stating things very frankly (“I hardly know myself and it feels fucking weird”) and sometimes being a little more subversive about it, like on opener “idk god.”
“idk god” is, in my mind, the most important track on this whole EP. Everything that follows it complements it perfectly and proves corook’s ability, but “idk god” is the most vulnerable we see corook throughout the entire body of work. There are still really funny lyrical moments – realizing that there’s no explanation for her dad being an ass other than “he’s just an ass” – but it doesn’t seem like corook is shying away from important questions and masking the discomfort with humor. Granted, when she does the latter on other tracks, it’s hilarious and works really well. However, the idea of meeting God and understanding the universe is incredibly hard to do well, and corook nailed it.
On the whole, achoo! is a great collection of tracks for a burgeoning talent to release as a debut, and though there isn’t a lot of tracklist flow cohesion, I can overlook that for this project because the songs are just so well written it’s scary. The varying instrumentations and styles within the singularly indie pop production coupled with corook’s lyrical ability is absolutely astounding. I can’t wait to hear what else corook has in store for us, and I hope you all check out achoo! below. Be sure to let us know what you think!
Glasse Factory - corook Gets Vulnerable About Mental Health in “i’m not doing well”
3 months ago[…] debut EP, achoo!, was released in April of last year (which you can check out our review of here). The EP has a lot of deeply personal songs with some great indie-pop instrumentals to lighten the […]