When some musicians come up in hardcore or punk, they usually stay there for good by moving from band to band, creating music of a similar ilk time and time again. That can’t be said for prolific Canadian musician Ben Cook, who has been a mainstay of the Toronto music scene now for nearly 20 years and has never worked within the constraints of one genre.
He rose to prominence as the vocalist for the critically acclaimed, and recently reformed hardcore band No Warning, and now plays guitar for one of the most inventive punk bands of all time, Fucked Up. In between, he did time in garage punk band Surplus Sons, as well as creating unabashedly 80s pop influenced ditties with Yacht Club.
This time, performing under his Young Guv moniker, Cook has delivered his first proper solo album – or mini-LP if you will – with ‘Ripe 4 Luv’. If you think you know what to expect from it you are probably wrong, and should forget any preconceived notions right away.
The hook-laden ‘Crushing Sensation’ is utterly infectious, with its saccharine sweet melodies, which can only be described as what it might sound like if Prince had fronted an indie band. This formula continues through ‘Ripe 4 Luv’ as Cook never once shies away from the opportunity to write a perfect pop song. The reverberating vocals and shimmering guitars of the sun drenched title track are glorious, and the new wave throwback of ‘Crawling Back To You’ is almost annoyingly catchy, but it’s impossible not to be drawn into it.
Just when you start to think that you have grasped ‘Ripe 4 Luv’, it twists and turns with the lush, keyboard soaked ‘Aquarian’ into the fuzzed-out pop of ‘Kelly, I’m Not A Creep’. Even with all the stark differences in sound that occur with each track, ‘Ripe 4 Luv’ still ebbs and flows with precision. There’s more than a few nods towards a 60s Merseybeat/British Invasion sound, particularly on ‘Living The Dream’, with its jangly guitars and rattling snare rolls, before Cook ends the album with another u-turn. ‘Wrong Crowd’ has a fresh R&B and soul vibe to it, with its cool horn sections and subtle vocal melody.
While ‘Ripe 4 Luv’ may not be punk in terms of sound, Ben Cook’s creative mind is the embodiment of what punk should be. He never repeats any previous projects, and always pushes himself by doing exactly what he wants to, without having to conform to anything that may have been expected of him given the impact No Warning had on the hardcore scene. Best of all, ‘Ripe 4 Luv’ sounds like it was created in every decade apart from the current one, yet remains refreshingly original. Prepare to be dazzled.
GLEN BUSHELL