New track “Cop Out” from Glasgow rock artist Chris Woods sees him returning with his same riveting indie rock appeal but with more subtlety and layered song structure than before.
Beginning with soft whistling sounds followed by rough and jagged guitar riffs from the start “Cop Out” merges two fusions of sound together smoothly to create something textured that is both gutsy and tender. With Chris Woods vocals sounding slightly faded and echoing there’s a gentle and raw quality to his voice as he sings openly and vulnerably about the feeling of watching someone you care for make bad choices and in turn becoming a different person.
However, there’s still a positive note to these lyrics as Woods affirms he’s “no cop out” and not willing to give up or lose hope on this person. There’s a laidback and relaxed tone to this track with its winding acoustic passages and absent-minded sounding whistling so that the listener can lay back and let this song take them on its musical narrative which flows beautifully cohesively as the song progresses.
My one criticism of this track however is that after a little while it does become slightly repetitive and feels as though it lasts longer than needs be. I felt like towards the end “Cop Out” would have benefitted from more variation of sound to keep it engaging throughout. Overall, the song is still a very enjoyable listen that brings an enchantingly calming quality to its alternative rock instrumentation.