EP: JP Cooper ‘When The Darkness Comes’

"When The Darkness Comes is clear evidence of the progression that Cooper has made as an artist..."
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“I wanna be there in the morning, so I’m working through the night” are the words that JP Cooper welcomes us with on the first track from his latest EP, When The Darkness Comes and after listening to the five track offering, let me tell you, you are definitely going to want to hear Mr Cooper every morning!

Sometimes an EP or album has a great overall feel but doesn’t necessarily have any standout moments of brilliance. From the off, When The Darkness Comes refuses to fall into that category as the aforementioned opening line of ‘Closer’ smoothly caresses your ears with Cooper’s incredibly soulful and passionate vocals, whilst the piano-filled opening 20 seconds of title track ‘When The Darkness Comes’ provide another standout moment, showing that even if Cooper sings simple la la la’s, he can still make them beautiful.

The Island Records signee has a voice that touches your soul in a way that only certain artists can and the final two tracks on the EP, ‘We Were Raised Under Grey Skies’ and an acoustic version of opener ‘Closer’, really showcase that vocal talent alongside the accompaniment of a lone guitar, ensuring that Cooper’s stirring vocals take centre stage.

Whilst Cooper’s vocal quality is undeniable, his songwriting is at the forefront of this EP too, with lyrics such as “You know you’re daddy’s little soldier and you’re mother’s handsome light / now don’t you worry about darkness, cos you’re carrying a life” on ‘Closer’ providing the EP’s most heartfelt and emotionally profound content.

Although When The Darkness Comes will be acclaimed for it’s profound honesty and emotional sensitivity, which it has in extensive amounts, the sparkling track ‘Satellite’, one of the lead singles from the project, offers a more upbeat sound than the rest of the EP and the change in pace is a welcome one as Cooper shows that he is not a one trick pony and confirms his ability to be able to write multi-dimensionally.

The polished sound of When The Darkness Comes is clear evidence of the progression that Cooper has made as an artist since his previous EP Keep The Quiet Out and having a major label backing him has certainly been a huge factor in that respect. As this is likely to be the last EP from him before his debut full length album, it needed to be a strong offering and that is exactly what this is. Anyone who hasn’t listened to JP Cooper prior to this release will instantly become a fan, whilst current fans will be immensely satisfied with the five exquisitely performed songs and will be counting down the days until that full length album is released.

You can pre order your copy of When The Darkness Comes on iTunes here in anticipation of the 26th January 2015 release date.

Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno

Matt Tarr

Matt Tarr

Urban Music Editor
With grime and hip hop being major influences on him growing up in South East London, Matt's passion is urban music but over the years he has gathered a hugely diverse taste, ranging from Wiley to The Smiths by way of Machine Head, that has made him a very open minded individual.
Matt Tarr
Album Reviews Reviews
About Matt Tarr
With grime and hip hop being major influences on him growing up in South East London, Matt's passion is urban music but over the years he has gathered a hugely diverse taste, ranging from Wiley to The Smiths by way of Machine Head, that has made him a very open minded individual.