Cog resurface with a new record almost exactly three years since the release of their debut album The New Normal, which gained them legions of fans all around Australia. The aptly-titled Sharing Space (where we as listeners are taken into the mind space of the Bondi-based rockers) almost convinces fans that nothing has changed.
Working again with Sylvia Massy, who was behind The New Normal, Sharing Space opens with undoubtedly the standout track of the album No Other Way and closes with another epic-length track. On these sprawling book-ends, listeners are treated to the successful and highly enticing combination of frontman Flynn Gower’s remarkable vocals, bass guitarist Luke Gower’s scintillating tones and drummer Lucius Borich’s trademark self-coined “fat drum sounds”.
The first two singles to be lifted from the new recording – the politically charged What If and radio-friendly Bird of Feather – have been successful with new and old fans alike. Are You Interested? was previewed on the What If? tour late last year, and quite warmly received as well. Other feature tracks from the album include Town of Lincoln and Say Your Last Goodbye, which could be directed to Massy following the strained circumstances which eventuated in the recording of the album.
Sharing Space will no doubt generate an even larger following than what Cog has now. One can’t help but notice, however, certain missing elements from The New Normal that distinguished it as the release of that year. Regardless, Cog has maintained the art of leaving their audience breathless. This is a stunning sophomore recording that shows why Cog are still on top of their game and genre.
