"can you make due?" (Laura Stevenson - Cocksure)

Laura Stevenson
Cocksure

why you'll love it: heartfelt delivery

why you'll hate it: unremarkable songwriting

An all too familiar nag of frustration pokes me while I listen to the latest Laura Stevenson album.  Her 2013 album, Wheel, was a triumph in taking her folk laced songwriting to the next level.  This year's follow-up, Cocksure, just doesn't have the same kind of impact.  I really wish it did, because Laura's personal brand is higher than ever right now.  Honesty shines through in her songwriting, she's a confident live performer, and comes off as the kind of person that you believe deserves success.  Sadly, nothing in Cocksure is lives up to her best work.  The album sails by, hitting all of her familiar notes, bit delivering nothing that really sticks.

Oddly enough, her friend and occasional collaborator, Jeff Rosenstock, left the same exact impression on me this year.  A release that has me repeating "this could be better, this has been better" with every song.  The best moments of this album only feel like ancillary tracks on better albums.  "Out With A Whimper" and "You Know Where You Can Find Me" open and close Cocksure with Laura's masterful pacing.  There are compelling lows and heartfelt highs.  They aren't amazing songs, but are clear highlights compared to everything in between.

A staple of this album is Laura trying to affect a more positive vibe in her songs.  I don't necessarily feel this is a bad thing.  Limbeck wrote a country-influenced album in 2003 called Hi, Everything's Great.  It oozes with joy and optimism.  I still enjoy it today.  Laura's take on positivity comes off as forced, and just an excuse for what sounds like a mediocre radio song.  Her simplification is at its worst in "Torch Song".  This main riff is Matchbox 20 levels of "offensively simple".  With a few subtle touches, "Life is Long" delivers the best pop song of Cocksure.  She adds just a little bit of spice to the riff to make it fun, especially that little bit at 95 seconds in.

All in all, "Torch Song" is the only track on here that actually gets on my nerves.  "Ticker Tape" is one of her better slow songs, with a real density to it, like something off of Grizzly Bear's Yellow House.  That's the most remarkable thing I've got to say about the middle 15 minutes of this album! There is that little going on.   If not for Wheel really knocking my socks off, I'd probably be lighter on Cocksure.  It's another nice little country-influenced album by this talented and likable songwriter.  It's a more consistent album than the ones she did before Wheel.  It's just that Wheel exists now, and there is no going back from that.