Will Joseph Cook makes pop music in 3D. Though his melodies are instinctively catchy, it͛s the poignant, questioning lyrics that linger uncomfortably under your skin. ͞I͛m really into duality,͟ he says. ͞I͛ve always liked music that sounds triumphant at the same time as sounding completely fragile. That͛s what makes music emotional, when you can͛t quite pinpoint what it is͟. It͛s this conflict that sits at the centre of Cook͛s appeal — especially in his bold, satirical visuals, which he͛s passionate about creating. The videos for his seemingly happy-go-lucky tunes, ͚Girls Like Me͛ and ͚Sweet Dreamer͛, battle between heartbreaking realities and unsettling surrealism. ͞I like creating a conflict between aesthetic and what is actually being said͟ he says — a sense that applies to both his songs and videos. ͞I want it to be like how you actually think. You never feel just one emotion at any time͟. Now 19 years old, Cook has already been honing this multi-dimensional approach to crafting infectious songs since he was just 14. Finding inspiration in everything from the youthful indie charms of MGMT, Vampire Weekend and Darwin Deez to the post punk art pop of Talking Heads, Orange Juice and Gang of Four. In early 2015, the Kent-born singer-songwriter released his debut EP You Jump I Run on Duly Noted Records. This first collection of tracks explored an unfiltered indie and acoustic theme, while its follow-up, Proof Enoughon Atlantic Records, demonstrated more of a groove as Cook began incorporating more electronic production. Both EPs displayed a songwriter with an ability to balance his listener͛s emotions on a knife-edge of tension and joy, while his vocal reached ever further into falsetto verses and shout-along, pulsing choruses. Cook began crafting his debut album, Sweet Dreamer, in late 2015. Still true to his bedroom roots, he writes his songs alone, sketching out arrangements in Logic, before bringing his demos to the studio. ͞It͛s a pop album,͟ he says definitively. ͞I like songs to be instant. I don͛t necessarily like it to be a challenge on your first listen͟. Mostly dealing with the tumult and technicolour of teenage romance, a common theme among the tracks is Cook͛s ability to take the seemingly mundane and imbue it with tragicomic significance. The overarching theme of the record is unbridled joy and emotion, conveyed in its shimmering alt-pop delivery.
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