“Dog & Gun” is the latest full-length album by Ollie Cook, an outstanding English singer-songwriter based in Wolverhampton. It’s his second full-length material, arriving after “The Boy With Pearls For Eyes,” an excellent album you should also check out as soon as possible. His latest collection of songs showcases the natural progression of an artist and many innovations in writing, composing, arranging, and producing. Heavily promoted with “Born To…” and “Pull The Rug,” two marvelous songs that immediately grab you by the collar and refuse to let go even long after they end, “Dog & Gun” carries seven mesmerizing songs, adorned with fascinating vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuvers. Soundwise, Ollie Cook combines a singer-songwriter approach with some of the finest properties borrowed from alt-country, alt-folk, alt-rock, indie folk, folk rock, and soft rock. He uses all these elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift his songs to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with many different but complementary subgenres resulted in an entire amalgam built upon catchy, engaging, memorable songs that will unquestionably appeal to even the pickiest singer-songwriter/alt-country fans and other music enthusiasts who’re looking for cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
This marvelous album commences with “Message To Remember,” an outstanding display of Ollie Cook’s songwriting abilities. The song arrives with a perfect structure, garnered with intricate segments, impressive instrumentations, and brilliant ideas. With the initial notes and beats, you’ll notice how his soulful, sincere, confident vocal performance serves as a centerpiece, decorating all the segments and instrumentations with such precision and finesse. In the meantime, the interplay between banjo, acoustic, and electric guitar shapes a perfect backdrop for all the vocal articulations to shine upon. There are also layers of piano included along the way, spicing things up and adding more complexity to an already complex song. You’ll also notice how intricate, audible, warm-sounding basslines lurk beneath these instrumental layers, adding more clarity, depth, and heaviness while the tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed rhythmic patterns keep everything in line while dictating groove and tempo. Ollie Cook thought about everything while writing and composing this track, and it’s undoubtedly one of the standouts in this material. “Minor Collision” continues in the same tradition, but in a slightly calmer manner. His impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes while commanding attention and guiding the listener through each section. You’ll hear how the arpeggiated chord progressions delivered on semi-distorted guitars shape such a soothing, ethereal, otherworldly atmosphere that immediately grabs the attention. Like the remainder of his songs, Ollie Cook thoroughly planned everything, so you’ll stumble upon many mesmerizing instrumentations and soulful vocal performances. Each segment delivers many sonic surprises, and it’s one of those tracks that marvelously blends folk tradition with modern alternative rock music.
The artist delivers more Americana-driven melodies, harmonies, themes, and other sonic maneuvers with “Pull The Rug.” There’s a pretty good reason why he chose this song as the first single off this album. It’s one of those compositions that carries all the qualities of an artist. There are carefully implemented, semi-distorted chord progressions, another barrage of powerful low-ends, and groovy rhythmic sequences. All these instrumentations fully support his tremendous vocal performance, making it such a pleasant listening experience worth repeating over and over again. Ollie Cook slows down the pace even more with “Dud,” a mesmerizing ballad that effortlessly combines some of the finest elements of seventies rock, folk rock, and country. This style suits Cook well, as his voice perfectly suits all those chord progressions, piano melodies, and half-time beats. You’ll notice how raw emotion in his voice decorates every note and beat, giving more than necessary emotional depth that stands as a rock-solid core of this track. This song is rock-solid proof that his music can easily pair with even those renowned names on the folk rock scene. “Born To…” carries some of the best guitar works you’ll hear in modern alt-country music. Those arpeggiated chord progressions bring this number to an entirely new level while the drummer accentuates everything with continuous splashing over the cymbals without missing a beat. It’s one of those songs where you can notice Cook’s dedication to the craft, as he fully stacked “Born To…” with so many details, nuances, and enhancements that uplift the listening experience to an entirely new level.
“Give Or Take” showcases Ollie Cook’s ability to write and compose deeply emotive ballads by continuously experimenting with his sonic direction. The song arrives with a long overture, stacked with calm, soothing, relaxing, arpeggiate chord progressions, subtle string instrumentations, and incredible piano leads. He gradually introduces some slide guitars and synths, preparing listeners for the upcoming stream of colossal sound that pervades from all possible sides. Still, his vocal performance steals the show here. You’ll notice how glides over those instrumentations, delivering low, mid, and high notes with such ease. It’s also good to mention that he skillfully controls the volume of his voice by calming or elevating particular harmonies, depending on the song’s dynamics. This ear-appealing sonic voyage ends with a self-titled track, another excellent composition where his guitar performance sounds even more powerful, and vocal harmonies resonate with raw, sincere, powerful emotion. In the meantime, those heavy beats cut the ambiance with ultimate precision, making this song even more dynamic. It’s a perfect closure of such an incredible folk-rock album.
Ollie Cook created a masterpiece. “Dog & Gun” is a marvelous full-length album, fully stacked with seven exceptional songs that will tickle all your senses. He thoroughly planned every vocal arrangement, sonic maneuver, and rhythmic acrobatic with a clear aim of delivering the ultimate folk rock album that will resonate with the broader auditorium. His experience, knowledge, skills, and talent shine through every note and beat, and this album undoubtedly positions him on the very top of the contemporary folk rock scene. “Dog & Gun” is a comprehensive collection of emotive, sincere, memorable, powerful folk-rock songs that will immediately grab you by the collar and refuse to let go long after this album ends. You should place it on your music radar as soon as possible. “Dog & Gun” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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