Paranoid Cocoon, the debut album from former Page France frontman Michael Nau, concludes with “The Changer,” a song that makes quite clear the singer's familiarity with the titular subject. In fact, the band had barely been in existence for a year before altering their name (from The Cotton Jones Basket Ride). Despite the fact that several Page France members round out Cotton Jones -- including songwriting partner/harmony singer Whitney McGraw -- the group sounds far removed from the cute male/female harmonies and fey folk pop they were making only a few years prior.
Cotton Jones’ breezy psychadelic alt-country is far more restrained than Page France’s jubilant, upbeat sound. The most immediately noticeable difference here is Nau’s voice. In the past, he sounded similar to a younger Jeff Mangum, at times straining his vocal cords to reach higher registers. Here, his voice is much more smooth, relaxed, and lower in the mix, but this isn't necessarily an improvement. There was passion and earnestness in his urgent wailing on mid-period Page France songs like “Jesus” and “Chariot,” but here it sounds like his pathos-laden vocals were lost in his maturation. With his laidback drawl, Nau seems disaffected and at times even tired or bored. On “Blood Red Sentimental Blues” and “Cotton and Velvet,” though, the singer loosens up a bit and challenges his limiting vocal cords, making for a much more engaging listen.
Nearly every song here plods along, in monotonous patterns, with lackadaisical brushes skittering or falling on a snare drum or ride cymbal. Dusty Hammond organ and basic bass lines anchor most tracks, and the final product is well-suited to the suppressed vocal delivery. Although none of the songs are necessarily “bad,” none of them really take risks either. There’s a lot of repetition (both instrumentally and vocally), and the end result is an album that feels familiar, comfortable, and ultimately unimpressive. It seems that the years Nau spent with his former band have temporarily emptied him of the joy and naïve exuberance heard on Page France’s best work. Each song feels like it belongs as filler between other more upbeat tracks. Isolated, some of the tracks can be enjoyable, but as an album, Paranoid Cocoon disappoints.
1. Up A Tree (Went This Heart I Have)
2. Gotta Cheer Up
3. Some Strange Rain
4. Gone The Bells
5. Photo Summerlude
6. Photo Summerlude
7. Cotton & Velvet
8. Little Ashtray in the Sun
9. Blood Red Sentimental Blues
10. I Am The Changer
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