Delusions of Cool is an album released by clash bowley. The artist has released a string of albums in recent years. Delusions of Cool is a twelve-song album and builds upon a palette of sounds that define the artist’s sound.
“Lacking Resolution” is the opener and one of the first things that stuck out to me was the dynamics. The drums have a consistency to them which is rare and I found everything else was of creating this morphing ebb and flow. bowley sings with a melancholy yet stoic delivery: “I fell apart / Could find no restitution / I lost my heart / Lacking resolution / Longing failed / When measured against you / Truth unveiled / Must be always true.”
The next song “The Airship” configures to a similar architecture although on this song the drums take on different textures and tones throughout the song. It’s a catchy tune and joyfully explores the terrain with a fine comb. “Retrochronation” is a great one. I found this song haunting and minimalistic. The vocals sound like they are close to you. There’s an intimacy here but there’s also a sense of mystery. This feeling continues with “The Window” which isn’t too far from the atmosphere and feeling you get when listening to a band like Radiohead. bowley is able to make this crawl in the best way possible. I enjoyed the drums especially how they faded in at different points.
“For Sammy” brings a different type of energy. It’s fast, kinetic and bowley displays a versatile vocal style on this. There are harmonies and arguably the catchiest vocal hook on the album. bowley sings “I gotta run, jump, run, jump, catch that spring.”
BANDCAMP: https://clashbowley.bandcamp.com/album/delusions-of-cool
bowley continues with “A Series” and “Love Me” which both have their high points but I have to say “Chosen” felt like a high point. There are some really inventive approaches to the design of this song. I thought the way the vocals blended on the chorus was fantastic. There’s a wide range of emotion and lyrically this song was one of the easier ones to interpret. bowley sings “And so I live my thread /Chained to ancestral fate it was for me they bled / And I am filled up with their hate I cried, I wept, I pled.”
There are some great songs but “Desire” was another standout track. On this track bowley combines a slick beat that sometimes sounds like it’s reversed with a modulation. bowley is in top form here. There’s another inventive beat on “Three Times the Rule” and a unique blend of energy on the closer “Desert Song.”
I noticed on the Bandcamp page this is bowley’s latest release. bowley seemed to be making a monthly album which was impressive in many different ways. Is this release his last for the foreseeable future or will we hear more from the artist soon? This album displayed a lot of originality and I found it to be enjoyable from the start so I hope there’s a lot more to come from bowley.
Heather Savage
