Will Joseph Cook – ‘Something To Feel Good About’ Review

Label: Bad Hotel/The Vertex Ltd

Release Date: 12th August 2020

Rating: 7/10

"It feels like a reference to the boyband ballads of the 1990s and early 2000s. But because it’s Will Joseph Cook, it’s not cringey."

Will Joseph Cook via Facebook.

Following the release of ‘Driverless Cars’ back in May, Will Joseph Cook has killed two birds with one stone, announcing sophomore album Something To Feel Good About and dropping its title track of the same name.

Due for release on the 27th of November, the taste of album number two doesn’t feel too dissimilar to the sonics of Sweet Dreamer (2017). With anthems including ‘Girls Like Me’ and ‘Treat Me Like A Lover’, Will Joseph Cook is infamous for singing about being “caught up and frustrated in love”, musing about love interests through youthful, rose-tinted glasses.

As their predecessors are, these initial singles are textbook indie anthems. Accessible and unpretentious, ‘Something To Feel Good About’ uses the archetypal trope of having a crush on someone and wanting to run around a city with them: “This city feels a little messed up / But we can make it better.”

This track is very digestible. Easy on the ears, I fell in love with it on my first listen. At moments, it's undeniably cheesy in a kind of tongue and cheek, ironic way: “even when it rains / I wanna be your something to feel good about.” Wanting to “throw our phones away” feels like a reference to the boyband ballads of the 1990s and early 2000s. But because it’s Will Joseph Cook, it’s not cringey. A little bit of cheese is allowed here and there.

Romantic tropes aside, the artwork for ‘Something To Feel Good About’ feels like a trip inside William Cook’s mind. An artistic collaboration with Billy Smith Morris, it depicts a cartoon version of Cook floating amidst notes, some with illegible scribbles on and some with song names on, depicting the writing process of his second album.

The album is just over three months away, so we’ll no doubt experience some fresh tracks soon. Until then, ‘Something To Feel Good About’ is here to fulfil all indie dreamboat needs.

Words by Eleanor Noyce.

15th August 2020.