More about: The Cool GreenhouseMelodic

The dialysis of being awake and asleep is seamlessly merging; two states are becoming one. Before long, the mundanity of life will have us dreaming wide-eyed and committing ourselves to obscure art projects like felting whilst we sleep. To complement our dry, banal existence, The Cool Greenhouse have released their self-titled debut album. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, The Cool Greenhouse is in no way a palette cleanser or an aid to wetting the whistle but something to occupy your menial brain cells and click your heels to whilst you bake another loaf of bread and wish for this all to be over.

The record is built on a cornerstone of ceaselessly repetitive riffs and the sound of the mundane commodities of our everyday. However, this sonic tedium is what places the album at the opposite end of dull — exhilarating. 

Previously released on their January EP, opener ‘The Sticks’ manifests the poetic cynicism The Cool Greenhouse will become famous for. Such lines as, “Well you can go a bit nuts out here, spending all day looking for your cigarettes or your glasses, or plugged into high-minded conspiracy theories,” slung upon a freakish carnival of frantic organ, guitar and obscure sci-fi gurgles paints an image that not even Expressionist artist Edvard Munch can conjure.

The band’s mouthpiece, Tom Greenhouse, presents an unparalleled knack for storytelling through his nonchalant efforts of spoken lyricism and popular culture references relayed in tracks such as ‘4Chan’ and ‘Subletters Pt.2’ in his unique and beguiling low-pitched hum. Every note and sentence possesses importance, all the way down to how long a word is drawled across a beat. Yes the song may be four minutes long, yes it might be monotonous, but the removal of a singular syllable would shake the Earth. 

This album favours the humdrum of catchy riffs, with Tom Greenhouse stating their mission as creating “repetitive music that wasn’t pretentious”. The swaggering twangs of a guitar, menacing throbs of a bass and nasal resonance of keys seems to be the trademark sound of the collective; the album is a complete projection of their sound. Although, seven tracks in, the angular and discordant chat of what can only be described as a guitar solo in ‘Trojan Horse’ snaps the album in two accompanied by the contrasting chant of the track’s chorus: “Trojan Horse, Trojan Horse, Trojan Horse, Trojan Horse”... multiplied by four. 

In an epic battle of pop versus indie, with their weapon, the power of the spoken word, The Cool Greenhouse could certainly be part of the driving force extending the frontiers of modern rock. The Cool Greenhouse could certainly be part of the driving force extending the frontiers of modern rock. The Cool Greenhouse could certainly be part of the driving force extending the frontiers of modern rock. The Cool Greenhouse could certainly be part of the driving force extending the frontiers of modern rock. 

The Cool Greenhouse is released on 29 May 2020 via Melodic. 

More about: The Cool GreenhouseMelodic