Thomas Cohen shares the country-inspired "Hazy Shades" from his forthcoming debut

15 March 2016, 10:25 | Written by Cai Trefor

(Tracks)

(Thomas Cohen)

Former S.C.U.M frontman Thomas Cohen unveils new track "Hazy Shades" from his forthcoming debut solo album, Bloom Forever. Both will be released on 6 May via Stolen Recordings.

It’s the third song to be unveiled from the album so far, and it boldly emphasises Cohen’s interest in the country music of Jim Sullivan and Townes Van Zandt, among others. The track gets its country feel from the slide and jangly C86 guitars, piano, and light percussion. It provides the perfect backdrop to sink into Cohen's beautiful, fragile voice.

The cut is not all stripped back though: soaring vocal harmonies, a proggy lead guitar, and drum fills break up proceedings momentarily - hinting at the rousing nature of the band as a live force. Cohen’s already proved himself as an enigmatic frontman in S.C.U.M, who sadly split up in 2013 after forming in the late 00s, and judging by this track he's set to ignite a whole new surge of interest in his shows. This will hopefully be a sustained second chapter for him as a musician.

Tragically, the album has been released in unthinkable circumstances. Listening to the album for the first time will be emotional for anyone affected by the tragic passing of his wife Peaches Geldof, especially since the album includes tracks written before and after her death.

But speaking about how people may become fixated on his life while listening, Cohen said in his press release: “I would hate for somebody to listen to the record and just think about me, you know? That’s not why you really make music. You’re making music for somebody else to emotionally respond to.”

If "Hazy Shades" is anything to go by then the album will be mesmerising enough for that to happen.