Cole Guerra – Scarves & Knives
On his second release, Cole Guerra sounds like the third member of a pop triangle with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn. Theres the art-form moodiness of the former, the solid if occasionally stealthy hookcraft of the latter, and the moonlit symphonic sweep of both. As for the writing, instead of depicting slices of life, Guerras pen reveals slices of emotions; call it stream-of-subconsciousness. Even a song titled Gina turns out to me more psychological profile than character sketch, perhaps reflecting Guerras clinical psychology back-ground. J.D. Foster co-produced Scarves & Knives and plays bass, and there are contributions from Dave Schramm and drummer Steve Goulding, but its clearly Guerras show. He displays impressive confidence, even courage, whether engaging in flights of falsetto (or thereabouts) on Left Coast Hopes or letting the bottom drop out of the grabby Hocus Pocus for an oddly compelling moment of over-the-top vocalizing.