Record Collection #4: Apple by A.G. Cook
Took a bit of a week-long break from Reedstack due to being very busy with travel and pre-orientation training at Williams. Here is hopefully the return of my record posts, resuming with Apple by A.G. Cook. I have done a blog post about Cook before, so read that if you would like to find more about him.
Apple is an album that fell divisively in critical eyes. Some praised it for its impossibly simultaneous soft and abrasive textures, some disliked its unpredictability.
Apple plays into this polarization: it is an album all about contrasts, about being both sweet and sharp. The first two tracks on Apple exemplify this: “Oh Yeah,” a chipper pop-rock anthem Cook inspired by Shania Twain of all musicians, and “Xxoplex” a keyboard mash of a hardstyle club anthem. The positioning of these two tracks feels wrong.
A million listens into Apple, and I am still trying to understand it. For every harsh moment (the blasts that begin “Airhead”), there is a saccharine pop song to counterbalance it. Apple seems to never fully commit to being experimental or pop music, occupying a liminal space between two different genres.
One thing that has been revealed to me is the simplicity in which these songs are written. “Oh Yeah” and “Xxoplex” simply do not have that much to them. They are catchy and effortless, songs that can be memorized just as easily as they can lead to disgust (Cook is not working with a particularly trendy palette of sounds).
This songwriting alchemy, so to say, captures a timeless feeling that is so unexpected considering Apple’s often metallic textures. Cook has the ability to deliver the impression that these songs have always been written, instilling scattered familiarity in this surreal piece of art. A feeling of belonging, therefore, is present in Apple’s diverse landscape of sounds.
Check Apple out: