The title of Cosmic Bull’s latest album Band Substances is not just a playful pun but a clear declaration that this is the first release under the “Cosmic Bull” moniker to be conceived and played by a four-piece band of musicians of substance.
Cosmic Bull began as a studio recording project based on the songwriting of Mark Vickery, who returned to the Chicago music scene in 2022 after a 20-year hiatus. He quickly released two EPs, 27X2 and Hangin’ in the I.P., produced by Scott Tallarida at Trigger Chicago and Paul Von Mertens at Octavio Music, respectively.
Band Substances, released on March 8, features Vickery on vocals and guitar, Jim Dinou on keyboards, Patrick Dinnen on bass and Ben Domhoff on drums and the fact that Dinou, Dinnen, and Domhoff played together in the Talking Heads tribute ‘This Must Be the Band’ informs the groove-heavy vibes of of the album.
Band Substances opens with “Metro-National” and Dinou’s new wave synths creating a runway for Vickery’s topflight baritone vocals and elastic wordplay. The tune has an off-kilter cosmic quality akin to ‘night tripper’ Dr. John fronting Stereolab.
The next couple tracks, “Neoromanticism” and (first single) “Once the Dust Settles,” keep the groove train on track: the former tune, featuring Penny Dinou on backing vocals, recalling Serge Gainsbourg’s duets with Jane Birkin and the latter the most explicitly similar to Talking Heads.
Further along, blue-eyed soul ballad “Hope You’re Still Familiar” slows things down a bit while “The Challenge Before Me” again showcases Dinou’s inventive keyboards. “Segway for Two” is a short ‘segue way’ (and almost something that one might hear on an obscure 90’s hip hop record) to the massive “More Than You Bargained For.”
“Eureka Smoke” is a spotlight for Dinnen and Domhoff’s stellar rhythm section while “Catch on Fire” releases Vickery’s clever lyrics like smoke signals: “Aging alone/While you’re working from home/No one you know/Will inquire what you’ve done; This won’t make you happy/But I believe you won’t catch on fire/If I might make it snappy/I’m revealing but my desire.”
Band Substances comes to a close with “How to Live Among the Troglodytes,” which is lyrically dense but light on its feet musically, and “New Year Song,” a mash-up of early 80s Prince, Faith No More (at its funkiest) and 90’s cult band Soul Coughing.
Band website: https://cosmic-bull.com/
