Often with artists that find a place in your heart you have one song you will always revert to when you need that quick fix of what you love about them. Little did I know that back in February when Mesita released “Living/Breathing” he had created that song for me. Uplifting, dashingly casual and complete with lyrics that match the mood the song puts you in it acts a pinnacle of James Cooley’s work of late. After his debut album Cherry Blossoms Cooley has collected himself and gradually his work has been gaining more focus all while managing to keep his chipper sound intact.
So when “Your Free Spirit” arrived a week or so back it came as a shock of sorts with its beatless first half and light blanket of guitars – it almost didn’t sound like Cooley until that now almost distinct falsetto came into the picture. But if anything this shows that he can work outside the preconceptions people might be building about him and still manage to produce something captivating and mature. The end result is a different kind of experience than to what you might expect from a Mesita song. It’s textural and even experimental to an extent as Cooley find a new way to keeping his songs afloat for four minutes. The guitars work hard and the intertwining melodies get under your skin instead of in your head before the coda lifts the song from the haziness. With his new album gradually nearing completion “Your Free Spirit” makes the intrigue deepen as to how Mesita’s new work will sound and while this track might not instantly catch you like “Living/Breathing” your appreciation might go as the words of the song do: from “These riders harbour doubt” to “this busted soul will come around.”
