Published on Oct 19, 2000
The greatest insult one can throw at a person following their
passion is, “Don’t quit your day job.” Lord knows I’ve been told
that thousands of times – and let me tell you, Dad, that really
starts to hurt after a while, so cut it out, okay?
So I don’t quite know how New York-based musician Paul Cote will
take what I’m about to say: Paul, if you’re reading, quit your day
job. If your recently-released EP
Assorted Chocolates is any indication of your talents as a
songwriter and musician, you’re going to knock the music world on
its bloated ass in no time at all. If you’re working a
nine-to-five, give it up, and get ready to knock on every label’s
door with this CD. (Of course, if music
is your day job, Paul, don’t quit it.) Anyone who doesn’t
see the potential behind it is either deaf or an idiot – and Lord
knows I’ve seen enough instances of both in 15 years.
There is a reason why Cote was named one of New York’s best
unsigned artists by Billboard. With his bandmates – bassist Michael
Burns and drummer Masa Amakura – Cote takes every single influence
he’s ever expeienced musically and throws them all into a Waring
blender. What comes out is incredibly smooth, transcending style
and classification and pleasing anyone who loves rock for rock’s
sake.
Tracks like “Lobuine” and “Jet Fighter” throw equal amounts of
rock, soul, funk and pure emotion into one neat package. Sure, the
overall production is a little rough around the edges – but
somehow, that just serves to make the music all the more endearing,
as if it was meant to be that way. You can occasionally hear where
Cote double-tracked his vocals, but this isn’t a terrible
distraction. As long as the music he keeps cranking out is so
captivating, I’m more than willing to overlook the small stuff.
Everyone seems to be making a big deal out of the song “Chinese
Pictures,” a song which I found took a little time to really get
into. It’s good, but the standout of this album could well be
“Refrigerator Syndrome,” a track which simply has it all. I defy
you not to be able to fight the urge to get up and dance to this
track – even if all you’re doing is happily slamming yourself
against the wall. It’s an incredible piece of music.
Sure, I’d like to have had more than 21 minutes’ worth of tunes
to base an opinion on Cote, but there’s more than ample proof on
Assorted Chocolates that should convince some record company
executive to give this guy a fighting chance. Who knows? Cote just
might exceed their expectations – something, of course, which
wouldn’t surprise me. Cote seems to be marked for greatness – if
only the right people would turn his way and listen.