For Alex Mojaverian, his Trash Man project has always been about rejecting the classic conventions of songwriting. “Oftentimes, just a melodic hook will pop into my head or just a specific lyric. I’ll put together a little 20-30 second chunk of a song, but that will be as far as I get.” For a working husband and father, the fact that he has any time for music is a testament to the dedication and respect that he has for the medium. Clocking in at about 8 minutes Cool Until It’s Not, is not lazy or rushed, but a highly curated, streamlined, and natural collection of 5 delightful songs. The world of Trash Man is painted with swaths of brash and hopeful distortion atop confident and explosive drums as Mojaverian’s anthemic vocals occupy the foreground. It sounds like a lovechild between Webbed Wing and Joyce Manor, but happier, even in light of the project’s subject matter.
The evergreen opener “Eventually” tackles the creeping existential dread inherent in the monotonous cycle that has become the speaker’s life. A bargaining stage of “Gotta get through this week” turns into a eureka moment by the time the song reaches its final chorus. It feels as if Trash Man has come to a realization with his own words on the second repeat, as “Nothing really matters eventually” becomes a freeing anthem rather than a pessimistic statement. The following track, “Cool Until It’s Not,” approaches the inevitability of change with the brattiness of a Ramones song. It stings like your kid calling you uncool, but delivers an appreciated acceptance for the ever-moving hands of time.
“Hole In My Heart” brings the EP’s first acoustic cut, which manifests as a slow dance ballad with an ear-catching solo and synth wobble that lets you just melt into the record’s warm tones. “Barely Living” turns the amps back on and cuts in with the project’s most cathartic chorus yet. The closer, “Where Does It Go?” ponders on the effects of consumerism amongst late stage capitalism between its brief verses while delightfully riding the line between Crosby, Stills, Nash and Elliott Smith. Then, before you know it, it’s time to start it over again because this is such a fun, little world to get lost in. Cool Until It’s Not is a short and sweet love letter to power pop that is born from the world we live in, but refuses to be swallowed whole by its looming clouds of despair.
Written by Lando Flakes
