photo credit Willow Shields
ALONGSIDE NEW SINGLE “SOMETHING IN THE RAIN“
With their previously shared offerings “No Sleep“, “Backseat Baby” and “S.A.D L.U.V” garnering tastemaker support from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, NYLON, DIY MAG, Earmilk, Ones To Watch, Record of the Day as well as radio plays on BBC Radio 1 – Jack Saunders, Radio X (John Kennedy’s Xposure), Apple Music (Matt Wilkinson), the Student Radio Network and many more in recent weeks, Cosmorat are now releasing their eagerly-awaited debut EP ‘Evil Adjacent’, alongside the new single “something in the rain”.
Reflecting on anxieties, boredom, and despair, Cosmorat detail growing up in questionable circumstances while loving thy neighbour as thyself (even if thy neighbour is the devil himself). ‘Evil Adjacent‘ journeys through several different tales of girlhood, abusive relationships, social anxieties, and loving those that can’t love you back. Cosmorat use textures and vocal arrangements to invoke the listeners imagination and put them into these situations.
Giving insight into the EP, Cosmorat’s Taylor Pollack explains, “‘Evil Adjacent’ is walking abreast with the kid you went to high school with that spent 3 years in jail for stealing catalytic converters out of the local VFW parking lot. This EP is an American Fever Dream. Most of it was written in a secluded cabin or in a basement. We wanted to capture the feeling of growing up in a crumbling world and making light of the fact that we are one to two degrees of separation away from tragedy. Some people aren’t bad, even if they are ostracised. We all do what we can to get by.
“While writing the songs for the EP, I tried really hard to find the joy in in the most miserable parts of existing through this time. I was having so much climate anxiety and general life anxiety with my personal relationships. I really want these tracks to feel unabashedly raw and open, like we are presenting our hearts on a rusty platter. We are very into imperfection and although the tracks are really filled out sonically with refined production, most of what we did was through experimenting and chopping up demos while adding layers of vocals and guitars. We kept many of the demo vocals and guitars on these tracks. “Overall, I want these songs to feel communal and cinematic. I hope the EP can convey the love we have despite the cards we’ve been dealt. This is a love letter to broken towns, broken hearts, and broken homes.”
Showcased by the dazzling lead single “something in the rain“, the final outing from this new collection highlights that broad and expansive nature of the band have been pursuing in recent months. Mixing warm and heartfelt soundscapes with some wonderfully euphoric explosions littered throughout, they shine with the same warm and enticing innovations many have been praising them for lately.
Adding about “something in the rain”, Taylor added, “In short, it’s a song about social anxiety in groups of people. It comes from a place of relying heavily on substances to feel normal in group settings and in public places. I know most of my friends feel this way as well, but sometimes it feels impossible to act normal and be okay in the world right now. Just existing comfortably and being able to afford rent feels so unfair compared to most of the world. I try to feel grateful, but I just feel guilty.
“I used to have a habit of going to social events and chugging drinks, getting drunk really fast, then feeling embarrassed about how drunk I was. In retrospect, it was a way to cope with my internal anxieties in public setting. I am so desperate for human connection, but have no idea how to relate to people sometimes.
“Olly and I spent many caffeine laced nights in the studio layering keys, percussion, cymbals, and any other sounds on the drum kit as well as screaming vocals down a corridor multiple times trying to emulate the experience of falling all around while intoxicated.
“‘something in the rain’, as the focus track, perfectly sums up the burn out of trying to justify your actions and associations. It is one of my favourite tracks I’ve ever written, and I feel like it really ties together the idea of trying to live with yourself while everything else seems like it’s going to shit.”
Having recently played DIY Mag’s Hello 2024 night and announced in The Great Escape’s First Fifty, Cosmorat have the below live shows lined up for 2024 including three London shows, all uniquely different. Tickets on sale now.
28th March – Whirled Cinema, London (a visual show with reactive videos for each song)
4th April – The Shacklewell Arms, London (“In the Round” – like a basement show/séance)
11th April – St. Pancras Old Church, London (stripped back performance with a small choir)
11th May – The Road to the Great Escape, Glasgow
12th May – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds *
14th May – YES, Manchester *
16-18th May – The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
25th May – Dot to Dot Festival, Bristol
26th May – Dot to Dot Festival, Nottingham
Cosmorat is the brainchild of Taylor Pollock and Olly Liu. Taylor grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. She started her music career gigging at bars and playing in various garages and basements around her hometown. As most kids from rural farm areas, Taylor’s experiences growing up were peppered with exploring decaying buildings, haunting empty malls, hanging out at gas stations, and getting into trouble out of boredom. Dealing with the mundanity and trauma that comes with late stage capitalism, Taylor explores what it means to be evil, and if people consider their opinions and actions or if it is more grey.
Taylor met Olly in college where they shared a love of Alabama Shakes and blues music. They began writing together and have been in and out of several bands before focusing on making their own project. They studied recording engineering to explore their love of textures and sounds. They not only try to conjure up emotional responses with densely packed lyrics, but they also try to make soundscapes with guitars and vocals to create sonic scenery. After their move to to London, Taylor and Olly added Lorenzo Burgio to the line up, for breakbeats, samples, and bombastic drums.
CONNECT WITH COSMORAT:
