Customer Reviews

Paranoid Cocoon

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Some bands move forward in the effort to break new ground on the musical frontier. Other bands are keen to the past and wish to leave their stamp on previously developed sounds. Cotton Jones is one of the latter. And how can you be surprised with a name like Cotton Jones?

The overriding elements in the band's music are the solemnity of gospel, the POP of doowop, and a coastal harmony than defies any time, as ageless at the oceans. It's a novel blend of styles that could have arisen 50 years ago or 50 years in the future. It's as if their sound has been quietly waiting for the right people to put together the elements for years and years. Some of the songs belong in a cheesy Hawaiian surfer movie while others are perfect for the soundtrack of a Flannery O'Connor story.

These varying sentiments are linked by the oftentimes haunting vocals of Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw. Their voices trail off into some other place, be it a granite ravine or an overgrown cemetery. Because of the aforementioned diversity in backdrop, the effect of their singing ranges from charming to bone chilling.

Unfortunately, there are breaks from the mystifying mood. "Little Ashtray in the Sun" is a mistake. It disrupts the albums rhythm, suddenly injecting a relatively fast paced honkytonk/southern rock bit into the mix. Nevertheless, the overall power of the album is hardly diminished. "Paranoid Cocoon" is worth a very serious listen by the most critical ears.

I heard this group's song "Gone The Belles" on NPR's World Cafe, and it was excellent. It was only after investigating their Myspace page that I found out the Cotton Jones where local to the DC/MD area. I am never good at describing music types but they are right on. Mostly laid back melodic tones and outstanding folksy lyrics. Kind of reminds me of Vanilla Fudge without the jazz & the rock out. I can't wait for their concert in March.

Wow, just discovered them. My music range is very broad, but I seem to keep gravitating to alternative folk; which is the best way I can describe them. The most similar I would say is: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, as they both have male and female singers.

Songs could be labeled as many genres: Folk, rock, country, blues, so it's somewhere in between. Love the sound, including the rich base.