New album Hard Hearted Woman is out on Friday the 13th of March. Cogan is a great listen whose back catalogue is well worth exploring.
Ora cogan has been releasing music for around fourteen years and has something like five previous albums under her belt. Despite that and over 180,000 monthly listeners on Spotify there is not a lot of information about her on the internet. She is part of Vancouver’s experimental music scene. She mixes a wide range of genres into her work. This album covers psych-rock, folk and quieter indie moments.
Opening track ‘Honey’ recalls Joni Mitchell at her seventies peak. “Just a hard-hearted woman // Gunmetal smile // Guarding your heart // Guarding your style.”
Fellow single ‘The Smoke’ has a similar warmth to it that would have fitted in well on Simon and Garfunkel’s soundtrack for ‘The Graduate.’ Division switches things up with a moodier use of synth sounds and speaks to our troubled and fractured times. “Please don’t listen // Don’t give into the division // Feeding your lines // In some bitter mood again.”
‘Bury Me’ continues that slightly more off-kilter tone, hints of psychedelia creeping in around the edges. Cogan’s voice is very much a whole mood of its own on tracks like this. ‘Limits’ feels more deconstructed, recalling Radiohead in mood and vibe. The shuffling drums feel very Phil Selway. There is a warmer, country edged lilt to ‘Love You Better.’ Basically, while Cogan’s vocals feel consistent across the album the backing shifts and turns a lot, covering a lot of ground.
This is a really intriguing album. I sense it will improve on repeat listening. There are no weak tracks, the standard feels very consistent from start to finish. There are some layers of mystery to unpack.
Essential Tracks: ‘Honey,’ ‘The Smoke,’ ‘Division,’ ‘Limits’ and ‘Believe In The Devil.’
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