Premiere: Cool American—”Hard Maybe”
Posted: by The Editor
Portland dorito-pop band Cool American released their great sophomore album Infinite Hiatus back in June, which landed them a nomination for The Alternative’s “Most Underrated Release of 2017” award. Although that sentence might read like the lede of a Hard Times article, Cool American are truly an underappreciated member of the West Coast indie scene, and Hiatus is a serious step forward from 2016’s also-great You Can Win A Few. The band took a number of songwriting risks and placed more emphasis on dynamics, resulting in what are truly the most intense and the most tender passages in their discography.
“Hard Maybe” is an outtake from the Hiatus recording sessions that, like much of the gold from last year’s b-side bundle, better luck next year vol 2: good job nice try—seriously, this band cranks out music—is worthy of side-a placement. Like many of the best songs on Hiatus, particularly closer “A Fullness Indistinguishable From Being Emptied,” this track starts off nonchalantly but ends in a fury of crashing drums and heavy distortion. It’s got the pacing of a bag of Doritos; the cheesiest, most intense bites come at the very end.
“Hard Maybe” will be included as a bonus track on Good Cheer Record’s 2017 sampler, which features music spanning the label’s 2017 release cycle, as well as unreleased material from Mo Troper and Floating Room.
Stream “Hard Maybe” below:
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Eli Enis | @eli_enis
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