The Cost of Freedom
Words by
Triston
"Yaps On Record"
HIIIIIIII FELLOW YAPPERS!
On Monday, I received an email asking to take a listen & share my opinions on an album called The Cost of Freedom by Koko Love.
I’ll be transparent: this is the first time I’ve ever been asked to cover something in the music space, and honestly, that’s pretty cool, so bear with me. (Thank you so much for even thinking of me!)
Montreal indie alternative artist and producer Koko Love just brought his debut LP, The Cost of Freedom, to streaming after a run of vinyl-only and Bandcamp exclusivity.
He reminds me a lot of Dominic Fike, and I mean that in the best way possible. Like genuinely a lot. There’s this raw vocal layering happening throughout the whole record, a very indie feel-good energy that feels both loose and intentional at the same time. To me, it’s really obvious on his song “Man I’m Not,” which is easily the catchiest song on the album. The background vocals on that track specifically fill the space in my opinion, so it’s not surprising that it peaked at number 3 on CBC Radio.
There’s a lyric in “Jump Head First in the Fire” that goes “my girlfriend’s making fun of me, cuz I don’t know how to drink” and I think that explains the essence/vibe of the whole album. Quirky, a little cheesy, and endearing - it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I think there should be more songs and artists like that (but his actually sounds pretty good).
It doesn’t sound like it belongs to a specific moment or trend; it just sounds like some chill music - especially music I could hear in the background of some sort of sunny/indie/coming-of-age film. “Caribbean Food to Go” is a great example of that. It sounds incredibly nostalgic, like it could have existed years ago and would have fit just as well, which isn’t an easy thing to pull off.
Overall, the acoustic feel and rawness of the project (what i mean by rawness is an authentic & gritty feel in some of the recordings) is awesome, and I feel that a lot of songs have so much more of an electronic/drum and bass feel to them lately but this feels like it’s leaning a touch back into the early 2000s indie or calmness if that makes sense.
Is it my favorite album ever? No. Is it groundbreaking? Not in particular. But I could absolutely see myself throwing this on during a sunset drive with my friends and just vibing. Sometimes that’s all you need, and this delivers that feeling effortlessly. Personally, I’ll be adding some songs from this album to my Indie/Pop & June playlist!
The Cost of Freedom is out now on all streaming platforms - lmk what you think about it!
Fav Tracks:
The Cost of Freedom
Caribbean Food to Go
Man I’m Not
Like a Tiger
Least fav tracks
Hiding in Plain Sight
His Info:
If there’s any other artists who want to send over their work, I’d genuinely love to take a listen to it - I enjoy finding and listening to new music!
Song Recs:
Middle Curse by Lali Puna
Stress by Justice
Fake it by 9090gate
point blank by Kelela
Floods by Pantera
What I listened to while I wrote this:
ketamina - slowed by yaego, KUčKA
Fire Alarm by Lil Uzi Vert, Snow Strippers
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Originally published on Substack