Music Review: 'Time'—Louis Cole

If you've paid any attention to bands like Snarky Puppy, KNOWER, or any type of jazz or nu-jazz artists, then you've probably heard of the name Louis Cole. He's a founding member of KNOWER and has done lots of collaborations with people over the years. If you still don't know him, you probably know him from his song "Bank Account" that became a meme for a brief stint.

Regardless, the groove-centric artist released a full on album to make you bob your head so hard you throw out your neck.

The album has plenty of appearances, such as KNOWER lead singer Genevieve Artadi, Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, Bassist Thundercat, and Keyboardist Dennis Hamm. If you're taste testing the album, all of the guest artist tracks are a good place to start.

First and foremost, Louis Cole is a drummer, so many of the songs have some irresistible beats that make you move in a way that differs from most popular music on the radio, and that's a good thing! If you're tired of the usual pulsing rhythm and four-to-the-floor beats, Time is sure to make you move differently.

The first two tracks "Weird Part of the Night" and "When You're Ugly" provide contrasting but still groovy feels with a bit of clever lyrical songwriting. "Weird Part of the Night" describes the mindset of most party-goers who are still going between 3-6AM with a very satirical voice.

"When You're Ugly" hilariously describes how the world views ugly people and what to do when you're the ugly person. It's extremely concise lyrics make it very catchy, especially when the chorus is, "F*** the world and be real cool."

Almost every track on the album has a bit of a comedic undertone to it, which perfectly fits Louis Cole's persona. It may be due to Louis' lyrical skills, or to the fact that he tackles heavier topics so head on that it has to be funny, like the track "After the Load is Blown." Whatever it may be, the whole album has a somewhat light hearted feel to it that tends to lift your spirits because of most of the songs' comedic premises. The real accomplishment though, is that you still feel cool listening to it.

It's not gimmicky or in your face like The Lonely Island, but more understated and ironic so that the groove can come out, as well as all of the jazz influence in the mostly computer generated tracks.

The only track that fell short for me was "Everytime" because it doesn't have a lot of direction with it. It's slower and devoid of the usually funky beats, so it's just Louis Cole's voice and a couple keyboards. Maybe it's how the track was mixed and mastered, but the whole song sounds flat and doesn't really go anywhere because of it.

The Verdict

Every other song is wonderful, whether it's the driving "Real Life," the orchestral "Last Time You Went Away," or "A Little Bit More Time" that makes you feel like you're in an 80s sitcom intro, Time has a bit of everything for those who like to bob their head and feel good doing it.