I have no idea why I listened to this album. I don’t know a lot about the British music scene, know even less about reggae, and had never heard of Hollie Cook in my life. I honestly think the incredible cover art is the main reason I gave this a spin. Regardless, it got into my rotation and it stayed there thanks to the unique sounds and charisma of its creator.
Hollie Cook is the daughter of Sex Pistols (excellently raunchy British band that found success during the British Invasion period of the 1970s) drummer Paul Cook. She kicked off her career in the late 2000s as a member of The Slits revival group before striking out on her own with 2011’s Hollie Cook. 2014’s Twice was widely regarded as one of the best modern reggae albums made, but years of touring took its toll on Cook and she remained inactive until last week’s release of Vessel of Love (Noisey did a nice piece on her where she talks about the process behind the album if you’re so inclined).
Vessel of Love is a fascinating work because of how seamlessly it invigorates the classic reggae sound. Cook calls her music “tropical pop,” which is better than anything I could come up with. The familiar reggae combination of rhythm/lead guitars, drums, horns, and piano are accounted for on every track, but Cook refreshes the sound by letting individual instruments carry certain songs and by introducing modern touches, most notably synths. Cook is not a supremely powerful vocalist, but her singing is elegant, never overextended, and perfectly matched with the mood of the song. Album highlight “Stay Alive” brings all these factors to the table, as the familiar reggae tempo is altered by some strange synths and the horns step forward to help set the tempo. Cook’s vocal work on the chorus is beautiful and somehow matches up nicely with the strange synth pattern. She has a knack for bringing her best on the hooks and creating catchy phrases sung in such a way that sticks in your head. Most of the songs on here touch on some aspect of love, and this one seems to be about finding a lover as an outsider in a cold, confusing world.
Another strength of Vessel of Love is the replay value/cohesiveness of the tracks. You can skip around and pick your favorites without hitting any duds or losing the flow of the album. My favorites were frontloaded, with “Survive” coming after “Stay Alive.” A big electric guitar reminiscent of the “surf guitars” of the 1950s shred along before backing off and letting Cook harmonize (auto-tuned) with some whiny synths. “Ghostly Fading” dusts off the accordion for an upbeat track that lets the strident horns take center stage as Cook laments about leaving a love behind. The last two tracks are also favorites, with “Together” offering some eerie piano keys and shifty drums as a backdrop for yet another poised vocal performance from Cook touching upon the power she and her companion in love share when together. Closer “Far from Me” gets away from the reggae stylings of the first nine tracks and features a darker vibe created by a variety pack of synths and a guitar lick/rhythm guitar combo that almost sounds like the James Bond theme song. The vibe is a little unsettling given what we’ve heard to this point, but I quite enjoyed the switch in vibes and thought it worked.
Once again, an artist wins me over to a genre about which I know very little. I’m glad Hollie Cook recaptured her creative juice because Vessel of Love is a welcome respite from the dreary, repetitive days of winter. Her modern take on pop-reggae fusion went off without a hitch, and hopefully it provides you with some tropical relief during these cold winter days.