𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 – this week: Heroes Let You Down – Bryan Cooper

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘿𝙤𝙬𝙣 – 𝘽𝙧𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧

Charles goes from hero to zero…

To say “We are all heroes” would be a very positive, modern way of making us all feel good about ourselves. It would also be a conscious lie. While many of us might be doing very well in life, we can’t all be heroes, or the word loses meaning and status. We must however all HAVE heroes. It is important to have someone to admire. This is mainly for two reasons. One, because we all need aspiration; we need to strive. And two, with no one above you, your ego will spiral out of control. So, those heroes really need to be solid. They need to be impossibly perfect. Choose wisely! We want a flawless glaze, not chipped china.

How, then, do we find such a “hero”? We’re all a bit rubbish… We ARE human, after all. We are fallible in so many ways. We do the wrong thing from time to time. But does this make us inherently bad people? Well, that all depends on intention and awareness. Being unreliable due to having ADHD does not make you a bad person. But being unreliable because you don’t care, perhaps makes you a selfish person (not necessarily “bad”, but it’s edging that way). So, when choosing a hero (we rarely consciously “choose”; it just happens), we need to find the person or people with the least flaws. But even then, it can be difficult. Say you’re a businessman and you look up to Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, it ain’t because they’re kind, lovely people, but because they are absolutely superb at business (whatever their methods). And let’s face it, aside from “my mum” (oh come on) or “my dad” (you’re just saying that), most people’s heroes are celebrities. Sorry, what’s that? Apparently the phone lines have lit up due to complaints about the previous parental comment. Okay, you’re quite right. I very much look up to both of mine. I just feel like a hero should be disconnected and untouchable. A bit like a god. So when one of those parentals asks me why all their emails have disappeared, it’s not quite the god I had in mind. I do however wholeheartedly apologise for any distress my previous comment might have caused (I believe that’s the standard plastic response we’re meant to use these days).

With most of us being artists, our heroes will probably be famous artists. It stands to reason. However, in art there is always this difficult balance of art versus artist. While the art may remain pure, it can be tainted within our minds because of the artist’s personality or even wrongdoing. Yes, I have touched on this before, but in this increasingly scandal-driven society, it seems more and more pertinent. When connecting with an artist’s art, we tend to connect with the artist. I completely understand that it is hard to love the creation if you despise the creator. But why? Why do we automatically associate one with the other? We all know Picasso’s work, but because he lived a little while ago, you probably don’t know much (if anything) about the artist, so the personality becomes irrelevant and we concentrate solely on the art itself. Which is brilliant. These days, though, I wonder if he would survive the inevitable chastisement for his hot and cold adulterous behaviour. In this present climate, being a celebrity is a VERY dangerous game, it seems. Can you imagine being surrounded by suspicious eyes hunting for flaws? Can you imagine the hateful judgement around every corner? Some celebrities are almost ousted from society for not smiling when greeted by a fan. Other celebrities are hated for wanting to change the colour of their roof. But then there are the genuinely bad celebrities. The ones who have committed horrific crimes. This is where things really do get serious. How can you continue to love and admire someone who is a convicted rapist? This heinous felony is no error of judgement. No mistake. No “whoops, I made a boo-boo”. And yet, their art remains innocent. THIS is the problem. We feel let down. And it’s a CRYING SHAME!!!

One such rapist is an artist called Br-… PHONE LINES!!!! Whoops, I made a boo-boo. I wholeheartedly apologise for such a joke in incredibly poor taste. Or whatever. Oh, the joys of NOT being a celebrity. Bryan Cooper is a good friend and a fabulous musician. He is also fully equipped with a wonderful, dry, English sense of humour; something he took with him when migrating from chipped china to judicious Japan. We’ll get to my pick of the week (‘Heroes Let You Down’) in a bit. First, though, let’s step back and have a look at the bigger picture. You see, this is not just an isolated song release. And neither is it even a new song. It is a remastered version of a single from 2022, as part of a compilation. This album is the release. Once I had spotted its existence on Thursday, I assumed it was the complete collected works of Bryan Cooper thus far. After further delving, I realised it was only 11 of his previous 20 released songs – so by no means the complete collected works, but the SELected works of Bryan Cooper. I kind of wish it had been called ‘Natural Selection’, but then again he’d have the crows chewing on his shoulder. Going by his choices, I would say it is less a “best of”, and more just simply “musings on a theme” – musically they are of the same ilk. So, although a compilation, it still “reads” like an album. Which I like it. Mini review of the album (‘Transmission Coda: Selected Works 2022-2026’)…? “Bloody brilliant from beginning to end. Just supoyb. Go (and) listen!”. Now let’s get to the song at hand.

‘Heroes Let You Down’; the title is not a question, but a statement. Which did interest me. It suggests the inevitable, rather than the potential. There are various ways of looking at the song’s meaning. There is, of course, the way I stated above. But then there is the rather more manipulative way, which seems to be more how Bryan means. How the stars are portrayed, versus how they actually are. This not a new concept by any means; look at 1950s Hollywood: the impossible dream… In Bryan’s own lyric, he seizes that vital word: “Propaganda”. But this conspiracy theory isn’t just related to artists. This could be about a politician, a business entrepreneur or a member of the Royal Family… But then again, let’s just suppose it IS about an artist. We’ve all been there. The artist you have adored since age 11. You had all their records, you had the posters, you went to see them live several times. You even posed in the mirror doing impressions of them! I see those red cheeks of yours. Then years later, you find that the whole industry has known bad things about them for such a long time, but for the sake of money and scandal they’d chosen to keep those secrets locked up, until even the big boys could no longer contain the horrible truth. My question has always been this. Should we dump the art with the artist? That art is still the same art it was when you loved the artist. It makes me think of when a murderer’s home is demolished because it belonged to that murderer. Surely the house wasn’t in on it… Are people that superstitious? Or is it just an association that is impossible to shake…? Probably. Which is so sad. Innocent art made by guilty creatures.

Thankfully, here we get both sainted art and saintly artist. The best of both worlds. One of the disadvantages of Bryan being such a great songwriter, is that it can detract from his brilliance as a guitarist. One is so absorbed in the music, that it’s often easy to gloss over the playing itself. And that’s how this song begins. A guitar melody that sounds as though this axe is just another limb. It’s as though his fingers are singing. His technique was never learnt but simply there. Much like we never learnt how to feel. This is all amplified by relentless yet subtle bending of the pitch, as well as the layers of manipulated guitar underneath. Simply put, this man knows his tools. But the song is underway with bass and drums soon enough. It is all setup for the confident, heavenly vocals, 28 seconds in. Even these have been layered for texture. Such a personal voice, but it knows you’re listening. It’s not personal like a soft, private conversation you were privy to through crossed wires. It’s more like a captivating performance by the only trustworthy candidate. After several verse/chorus type things (it’s never quite as simple as the norm with Bryan), we hit the masterful guitar section at 1:05, which continues for about 30 seconds. It’s like a demonstration on how to flick. The most unique way of playing. The only guitarist who plays even close to this style, is Graham Coxon. But what I find captivating is just how many notes Bryan is able to fit in, while never coming close to sounding annoying, show-offy, or jazzy. It always just works, and it sounds as natural as playing a slow major scale. I feel like the guitar is his closest friend. Every flick is like a ruffling a dog’s submental region. No, that’s not what you think it is. Oh look, just listen. And while you’re at it, set aside the 32 minutes it will take to listen to the whole LP.

If you’re currently looking for a new hero, I might strongly suggest Bryan Cooper. There’s enough disconnection, he’s kind and honest, he’s never made a bad record, and he knows how to use his email. He won’t EVER let you down.

Righto, I now have to recover my god’s emails, despite having an itchy submental region. PHONE LINES!!!

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