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We begin our journey with the crossover singer/songwriter project Wastelander via one Cooper Formant in his new album What is Left of Me with the delightful sway of “Get it Right,” arguably the perfect tone-setter to kick off any tracklist, and although its heady harmonies and light tempos are intoxicating for certain, they’re only representative of a small glimpse into what this LP has in store for all who give it a listen. What is Left of Me keeps the upbeat energy rolling with the self-explanatory “Get Older” before sliding into some brooding folk-rock melodicism beside Erin Rae ala “Be Where,” and if these first three songs don’t have your senses awakening to the melodic bend of the music, I don’t know what else would this season. Formant is pulling out the big guns here, and that’s easy for both longtime listeners and new fans to appreciate.
“As You See” invites a bit of alternative balladry into the fold for What is Left of Me that stands in total contrast to the old-fashioned swagger of “Caduceus,” which despite being mostly folky in structure is one of the most memorable tracks here, and surprisingly enough, the aesthetical differences between the two complement each other more than they conflict. The monolithic feeling of “Broken Leg” brings us to the midway point in the record on a high note, and although it’s preceded by a diverse lineup of material, I think that the eclecticism of this LP’s first half is partly what makes it so hard to put down after it’s been picked up for the very first time. There’s nothing formulaic about What is Left of Me, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about a lot of indie records coming across my desk lately.
At under three minutes in total length, “Figure it Out” is by not the longest song on this album, but it doesn’t feel overly simple or limited in comparison to what it should have been at all. On the contrary, this track allows Formant to stretch his compositional legs in the style of someone more experimental than he’s been previously; there are no barriers to come between his narrative and the audience here, nor in “Natural Light” and the heart-stopping “Room Full of Elephants,” and he utilizes every bit of space in this master mix to make us feel all of the emotion he’s so boldly wearing on his sleeve.
“Never Trust a Man” provides us another shot of gentle swing as we prepare to enter the haunting “I Just Want to Be Your Friend,” one of the more powerfully evocative tunes in the album’s second act, but next to the concluding number in the title track, I don’t think either of these songs capture the scope of Formant’s artistry as it currently stands today as well as this final bow does. “What is Left of Me” brings us full circle to where we first began with “Get it Right” and, in my opinion, teases us with the idea that Wastelander’s best days are still ahead of it, which is pretty satisfying to me as a music lover.
Jennifer Munoz
