Where The Little Moments Go

Louis Cole “I’m Tight”

“I’m Tight” is a song showcasing Louis Cole’s dazzling skill as a funk bass player, but then you go and read his bio and it says “Louis’ main instrument is the drums.” This is impressive, but also vaguely infuriating – like, really, this isn’t even your core competency? Cole plays everything else on the track too like he’s Stevie Wonder or Prince, and comes pretty close to attaining the sort of magical tight-yet-minimalist funk of the latter circa Controversy. The big difference is Cole doesn’t have a magnetic and sassy persona or an overwhelming warmth and soulfulness, and rather than emulate that kind of presence on the microphone he goes in a totally different direction by embracing neurosis and self-deprecating humor. The lyrics don’t jump out enough to overwhelm the funk with irony but he spends a lot of the song trying to sort out what he thinks of himself and embrace the parts of himself he feels good about. It seems like he’s deliberately approaching a genre that’s traditionally hosted a lot of strutting confidence as a challenge to find that in himself, in his own weird way.

Buy it from Bandcamp.