Cog - Sharing Space (Album)

Remember when you were a kid and you bought your first Nirvana record or your first Tool record? You were pleasantly shocked out of your brain. You couldn’t put it down, you were compelled to read every lyric, listen to every chord and tap every beat. Well Cog’s latest release, Sharing Space, is that record all over again. I must say straight out that this is a must have album for any heavy music lover; go out and get it now.

It would be safe to say Sharing Space is not a concept album, but the title means more than just words on a page. It appears as Cog is sharing their current headspace with all that will listen. Vocalist Flynn Gower’s cries of unity and freedom seem to be the constant that binds the band and their songs together. Sharing Space has a musical structure that ebbs and flows and works as a full body of work, the album plays much the same way their songs do. There is nothing predictable about this album; it’s worth listening to from start to finish as every song has its own piece of magic shifting moods throughout the album giving Sharing Space the glue that will stick your ears to the speakers.

Sharing Space has a more positive outlook, far removed from the previous more aggressive and abrasive single-slapper album “The New Normal”. Maybe recording away in Weed, CA, USA, with famed producer Sylvia Massey (Tool), gave them the space to unite and look outside the square and into a massive expanse of possibilities, they have opened up and written their most mature and inspired piece to date and one that could quite possibly be the album of the year.

Flynn Gower’s vocals become almost ethereal as they float above the waves of rhythm that build below. A lot of the lyrics are politically and socially driven, and leave you with a strong sense of where they stand. Gower’s mastery on guitars seem even more layered and textured than any other release, changing from poetic to powerful at any given moment. This is equalled by the luscious and syncopated grooves of the backline comprised of pendulum swaying bassist Luke Gower and percussion extraordinaire Lucius Borich who leaves your jaw dropped at every turn.

There are some moments of musical brilliance throughout this record such as the pumping bass line in “Bird of a Feather” or the psychedelic effects in “Bitter Pills” to the pulsating rhythms of “The Town of Lincoln”. Synth sounds have become a prominent feature in both the creation of the music and their level in the mix. Cog seem to venture on a journey into new musical territory, expanding from early releases such as Open Up and the Just Visiting EPs. The squelching analogue effects and retro synth seem to mesh effortlessly with Borich and Gower’s tribal rolling rhythms and Flynn’s melodic tapping. This is an experimental record to say the least but without all the wankery we’ve seen from other bands of modern times. Comparisons can be made to such greats as Pink Floyd and others of their ilk, making Sharing Space seem almost timeless…

All Cog fans new and old unite; this is the album you’ve been waiting for.

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