Many a year ago , Colleen Green admittedly felt herself a little far flung from the idealistic self-loving youthful joys of adolescence. Her 2015 release ‘I Want To Grow Up‘ pulled crippling existentialism felt by her late-teen peers to the forefront in a dazzling display of crafty, colorful tracks that garnered her much well-deserved attention. The sugary mixture of fuzzy pop-rock and delectable drum-machines surely signposted her as one-to-watch, even gaining her an album review from the legendary Pitchfork. Today those feelings stand at the sidelines as the second single from ‘Cool‘, her newest album due to release September 10, 2021 via Hardly Art, reflects a definitive change of heart in her new adult life.
Bright and breezy, ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice‘ is an anthemic funhouse that pulls from all the corners of Green‘s strengths. A stutteringly simple collection of chords lovingly lollop alongside the twinkly leads that dance around the peripherals of her voice, lightening the spirit as much as the lessons behind the lyricism. At its core the song serves as a reminder that one gets as good as they give, pushing the practice of patience and kindness forward as an integral part of day to day living. With a lovingly made music video (directed by Renee Lusano) depicting the songwriter spending a sweet summer’s day atop a boat, smiling in the sun with an airy carefree nature, there’s a positivity that permeates through the whole piece in a way that would make even the starkest pessimist pause for thought.
The single follows ‘I Wanna Be A Dog‘, a celebration of the simplicity of canine life that follows a comfortably similar path to the new release. The two tracks, alongside the rest of ‘Cool’, find themselves under the production banner of Gordon Raphael (The Strokes), who easily lifts the new songs to higher, heartier ground whilst maintaining the well known, well loved lo-fi sensibility held at the core of Green‘s music. Raphael was already a fan of her work, having been “struck by how confident and powerful she looked, even though she was the only one onstage”, and together with drummer Brendan Eder and hip hop producer Aqua over a few weeks in Los Angeles, ‘Cool’ was created.
Altogether, ‘Cool’ promises to be a crisp, collected, well-considered exploration of life in the shoes of people newly entering the wacky world of adulthood, and ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice’ the most welcome introduction to the party.
Listen/watch ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice’ here:
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