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The music of Myles Cochran’s You Are Here has a certain rootless quality. Born and raised in Kentucky, he currently splits time between East London and East Devon, making his music, in some ways, difficult to pin down. Part of the reason stems from his upbringing when country music was uncool, which led him to listen to the likes of Bach, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Defining You Are Here becomes a pointless proposition; it is primarily a solo album where instruments like steel guitars and cellos walk hand in hand through a landscape of acoustic and electric guitars, and subtle electronic production creates a rich sonic tapestry.
Calling the music “ambient Americana” may be an apt description, but doesn’t really do justice to music that seems less rooted to a place than to emotions and spirituality. While a sadness may be attached to certain songs, sensations and experiences take hold to create something that seems to exist outside of any particular locale. His music lives in the wind, shifting and changing as it moves from one place to another.
There is a distinct quality of floating to The Deepest Sea, a track that began as a song with vocals but ended up as an instrumental. Guitars seem to drift on the water while atmospheric elements shake the scene like gentle waves. Shifting tones play out, blending with the other elements, enhancing that feel of bobbing with the swells yet never adrift.
Wistfully, The Stories We Tell Ourselves exists in a land of melancholy. Pianos and guitars play against violins, creating a whole that is much larger than the sum of its parts. Sadness fills the piece without ever overwhelming it. These are the tales we tell to keep us going, and in those moments, the sense of who we are may be shaken, yet we remain whole.
While the guitars set up the sole vocal number, If You Could See Me, by the time the first two lines have played out, the song is filled with musical and lyrical questions: “If you could see me, what would you see?/ If you could hear me, what would I say?” Pianos, guitars and soft synths merge with the sense of uncertainty, creating moments that end with more questions than answers, much like life itself.
You Are Here is filled with music that subtly shifts while shining a light on sonically rich moments that softly weave their spell. Myles Cochran lives in a rootless space, while his music exists outside of time or place.
You Are Here (26th July 2024) 9Ball Records
