When you want to appear tormented, fucked-up, broken, desperate, disparate, whatever — you can’t do it half-assed. That’s the real problem for Cole Guerra. No matter how stamped on, walked over and beaten up he’s been, it’s just not enough. This guy wants to sound like David Gray and Keane and Neutral Milk Hotel all wrapped as a stick-to-your-shoe gummy confection. True torment doesn’t have female backing vocals. Broken-down songwriters don’t write hooks, they hang from them. Maybe Cole Guerra wants to find the happy medium between weep and radio airplay, but didn’t John Maher, Jason Mraz and Howie Day all try that? It sucked then and it sucks now.
L.M. Smith writes about music for Metro Times. Send comments to letters@metrotimes.com.
