A.G. Cook - 7G
“Everything you do—its been done before. Everything you say—yeah, you said that yesterday.” In the rapidly evolving world of electronic music, these lyrics apply to many, although A.G. Cook could be an exception. Here, the founder and forefront producer of the PC music collective finally steps out of a producer role and into the limelight to showcase a broad panorama of the PC music ethos on his debut album 7G. While a full listen of the record can prove tedious at times, Cook’s intent on 7G is not a neatly packaged EP of bangers, but rather a portfolio of his wide-ranging influences and impact on PC music over the last 7 years. The behemoth of a record follows a 7-disc structure in which Cook delves into wildly disparate genres including IDM, bubblegum bass, alternative rock, and synthpop. However, the record remains coherent through its consistent abundance of surprises. Each 7-song disc delivers a sketch on a specific genre, proving his abilities to push that genre forward. For example, the record starts with an IDM track clearly referencing Aphex Twin, yet on the next song, he scrambles in vocal samples and glittery synths that completely change the soundscape of the IDM structure. Another common thread between all seven discs on the album is the incorporation of cover songs, which hilariously range from Charli XCX to Blur to Tommy James & the Shondells. With these wildly varying covers, Cook reminds us that PC music is all about re-contextualization.
