Cosmorat

"We're putting it out there now: 2023 is the year that new bands are getting maximal. Where pop supergroup FIZZ are leading the charge with musical theatre-adjacent, unashamedly OTT eccentricities, 'Backseat Baby' positions London-based Americans Cosmorat  as the cooler, sassier kids at the back of the bus. As a debut, it still throws everything on the table - playground chanty vocals; whisper-to-shout dynamics; cooing harmonies - but there's a swagger present too that suggests their next offering could be literally anything."

DIY MAG

"London's Cosmorat combines chants and darker themes in a way that's reminiscent of the girlish indie pop of the 2010s."

NYLON

"There is something fantastically quirky and authentic about the indie-pop sound of London-based US band Cosmorat"

RECORD OF THE DAY

"It is rare for an artist to have carved out an entirely fresh and fully realised sound on their first album cycle, let alone in their earliest tracks. Cosmorat however, a US outfit now based in London, had their textural and calcified sound figured out from their debut offering "Backseat Baby."

THE LINE OF BEST FIT

"Having spent the last few years honing a distinct and groovy signature sound for themselves, Cosmorat are all set to introduce themselves to the indie-rock scene, leaving us excited for their upcoming project"

EARMILK

After the sonically rich and varied singles "Backseat Baby" and "S.A.D L.U.V", which have received tastemaker support from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, NYLON, DIY MAG, Earmilk, Ones To Watch, Record of the Day as well as radio plays on BBC Radio 1 - Jack Saunders, Radio X (John Kennedy's Xposure), Apple Music (Matt Wilkinson), the Student Radio Network and more, Cosmorat are releasing their debut EP 'Evil Adjacent', alongside the new offering "No Sleep".

Reflecting on anxieties, boredom, and despair, Cosmorat detail growing up in questionable circumstances while loving thy neighbour as thyself (even if thy neighbour is the devil himself). 'Evil Adjacent' journeys through several different tales of girlhood, abusive relationships, social anxieties, and loving those that can’t love you back. Cosmorat use textures and vocal arrangements to invoke the listeners imagination and put them into these situations.

Giving insight into the EP, Cosmorat's Taylor Pollack explains, "Evil Adjacent" is walking abreast with the kid you went to high school with that spent 3 years in jail for stealing catalytic converters out of the local VFW parking lot. This EP is an American Fever Dream. Most of it was written in a secluded cabin or in a basement. We wanted to capture the feeling of growing up in a crumbling world and making light of the fact that we are one to two degrees of separation away from tragedy. Some people aren't bad, even if they are ostracised. We all do what we can to get by.  

"While writing the songs for the EP, I tried really hard to find the joy in in the most miserable parts of existing through this time. I was having so much climate anxiety and general life anxiety with my personal relationships. I really want these tracks to feel unabashedly raw and open, like we are presenting our hearts on a rusty platter. We are very into imperfection and although the tracks are really filled out sonically with refined production, most of what we did was through experimenting and chopping up demos while adding layers of vocals and guitars. We kept many of the demo vocals and guitars on these tracks.  "Overall, I want these songs to feel communal and cinematic. I hope the EP can convey the love we have despite the cards we've been dealt. This is a love letter to broken towns, broken hearts, and broken homes."

The EP's focus single "No Sleep" perfectly heightens these new ambitions the band have been developing of late. With its bright and shimmering tones perfectly set to some wondrous vocals throughout, Cosmorat continue to push the boundaries of their indie-pop aesthetic once again.

Speaking about the new track, they said, "No Sleep is a rumination on a loved one struggling with mental illness and addiction. I wrote this one night after a harrowing phone call with my mom about someone really close to us. Sometimes, since moving away from home, I am feeling like I am missing out on important life events from my family. Often, when I am feeling helpless and far away, I stay up all night thinking about the worst possible outcomes and how I can’t immediately be at home and help.

"Throughout the song, I recall some conversations I've had with people before they fell into a vicious cycle of addiction. It is sort of pointing out warning signs that I recognised long before they became addicts, but how we eventually grew apart due to isolation and pushing everyone away.

"The song opens with vocals all singing their own melody lines, which seem to form and fuse into a choral arrangement in the woods. As it builds into the end, it becomes a circular cycle with string parts and a vocal canon of over worrying and staying up all night praying that things will be ok. The repetition mirrors the anxious thoughts that run over and over and over all night long."

Cosmorat is the brainchild of Taylor Pollock and Olly Liu. Taylor grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. She started her music career gigging at bars and playing in various garages and basements around her hometown. As most kids from rural farm areas, Taylor's experiences growing up were peppered with exploring decaying buildings, haunting empty malls, hanging out at gas stations, and getting into trouble out of boredom. Dealing with the mundanity and trauma that comes with late stage capitalism, Taylor explores what it means to be evil, and if people consider their opinions and actions or if it is more grey.

Taylor met Olly in college where they shared a love of Alabama Shakes and blues music. They began writing together and have been in and out of several bands before focusing on making their own project. They studied recording engineering to explore their love of textures and sounds. They not only try to conjure up emotional responses with densely packed lyrics, but they also try to make soundscapes with guitars and vocals to create sonic scenery. After their move to to London, Taylor and Olly added Lorenzo Burgio to the line up, for breakbeats, samples, and bombastic drums.