Looking for some lighthearted pop to listen to this weekend? Look no farther than Achoo!, the debut EP (and sneeze) from Nashville-based artist Corinne Savage, aka Corook, that dropped earlier this month. This unabashedly queer, young singer-songwriter stood out to us early on for the catchy pop hooks that her lead single, “Sims,” a tongue-in-cheek meditation on how much easier life is within the confines of a digital framework like the titular game, than, you know, the IRL complications of being human. Following that debut track up with “Bad Friend,” a reflection on the sometimes complicated dynamics of maintaining relationships long-term, complete with Corook’s own heartbreaking experience with homophobia from her former friend, Savage’s songwriting chops become more evident.
“Achoo! is the first batch of songs from the world of Corook,” the artist said of her first release. “It’s a weird world that includes speaking simlish, roleplaying my father, my phobia of snakessssssss, and a song written by ADHD itself. In every case though, the humor is simply the white bread slices to the gooey condiments of vulnerability we call peanut butter and jelly. So grab your butter knife, add banana if you’re feeling spicy, and dig into my trauma. Achoo! Bless me.”
Rounding out her initial EP release with the more standouts like the existential, searching “IDK God,” and a song on the potential pitfalls of college education “Degree,” Corook’s first song collection is at turns funny, clever, self-deprecating, and so hooky these melodies will be stuck in our head long after the first listen. The songs are lighthearted, but just deep enough that mulling them over for a few days is a good thing. And some of them, like “Snakes” are really just funny. Stream the EP below and look for more from this emerging artist, likely coming very soon.
