Apollo Ghosts Spinoff Cool Detail Debut Album, Discuss New Loop-centred Sound

BY Alex HudsonPublished Feb 7, 2014

Vancouver's Apollo Ghosts have been sorely missed since breaking up last year, but the band's Adrian Teacher and Amanda P. have now gone on to form Cool with local drummer/songwriter Shawn Mrazek. With their album Paint is due out this spring, the band have now shared the details of the release and shed some light on the project.

While Apollo Ghosts favoured succinct jangle punk, Cool's single "Blue" (listen below) hints at a funkier and more lushly sprawling sound. In an interview with Exclaim!, singer-guitarist Teacher explains that he had been growing tired of garage rock when he wrote the new songs.

"I like so many different styles of music," he says. "I crush on the Bee Gees and ABBA so hard. I was knee deep in [Nick Lowe's] Jesus of Cool and [Talking Heads'] Remain in Light at the time I wrote the songs. I fell in love with the groove and the idea of trying to compose a song over a constant loop. It was something I'd never even thought of before. For a while I stopped listening to music made by men and focused on female-fronted bands: ESG, Bush Tetras, Pylon."

He initially began working on material with JC/DC producer John Collins (of the New Pornographers), but he confesses the songs were initially "lifeless." It wasn't until Mrazek got involved that the new sound clicked.

"We recorded most of the album over two days in September," Teacher remembers of the sessions. "I think it was 75 percent first takes, with no limits on overdubs afterwards. JC had a few more naps during the sessions. Amanda made Jamaican patties instead of something Hungarian. The experience was relaxed and hilarious, and as usual, mostly jokes and gossip rather than recording. We slipped in some sweet overdubs from my friend Karl Blau and my friend Pavel in Czech Republic. Karl blew hot brass and Pavel lent us his Eastern European blues runs. I did one Nick Bragg guitar solo homage."

All of the songs are named after colours, a choice that Teacher says was partly inspired by his past job as a painter. Furthermore, the album was recorded in a former paint factory.

"Painting seems really free to me," Teacher reflects. "Throwing colours all over the canvas or whatever. No rules, no limits."

See the vinyl tracklist below. Cool will release the album with a show on March 22 at Vancouver's Red Gate. After that, it won't be long until their next release; they have another new album on the way, which will likely be out this year. Some EPs or 7-inches may also be in the cards.

Paint will come out through Yellow Plum Records

Paint:

A1. Saffron
A2. Blue
A3. Green
A4. Purple
B1. Pink
B2. White
B3. Red
B4. Gold

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