Kurt Baker - Play It Cool (2015)

Play It Cool, the third solo album from Kurt Baker, is the long-anticipated follow-up to 2012's much-beloved Brand New Beat. Baker has been one of the hardest-working men in rock n' roll in recent years - releasing new music with his bands The New Trocaderos & Bullet Proof Lovers, playing bass for Kris Rodgers & The Dirty Gems, and writing the song "He's A Drag" for The Dahlmanns. Like Brand New Beat, Play It Cool was produced and co-written by Baker's frequent collaborator Wyatt Funderburk. The album was written while Baker was living in the center of Madrid, Spain. Recorded with an all-star cast of supporting players (Geoff Palmer and Kris Rodgers from The Connection, Adam Cargin from Screeching Weasel), Play It Cool has proven well worth the wait…and then some! Play It Cool is exactly what you'd expect from Kurt Baker - 12 perfect shots of power poppin' Rock & Roll that would be all over the radio in an ideal world.

Proving to be one of the most productive artists today Kurt Baker is like the Energizer bunny quickly moving from his collaboration with The Connection on The New Trocaderos, and he’s back with his favorite producer Wyatt Funderburk on a new high energy album.
It all starts with “Sends Me To Mars” setting a manic pace; its written by Kip Brown (The Wild Hearts) and it fits the Kurt/Connection/Trocaderos style like a glove. “Enough’s Enough” is more straight Kurt Baker style, catchy as hell and deserves multiple repeat listens. The tempo is still speeding when we get to “I Got You” and “Just A Little Bit”. Kurt’s restlessness comes through on his party theme “Monday Night”. “Can’t Say No” is like a marriage between Elvis Costello and Green Day, and finally we get a slower (mid-tempo) love song on “Talk Is Talk” with a wonderful Beatlesque chord progression. “Back For Good” has what I hear as a Funderburk-influenced love song with yearning lyrics and a magical middle eight. There are a few songs that tread the same ground, but overall this is another home run for Kurt.

~ Review by powerpopaholic

Tracklist:

01. Sends Me To Mars
02. Enough's Enough
03. I Got You
04. Just A Little Bit
05. Monday Night
06. Can't Say No
07. Play It Cool
08. Talk Is Talk
09. Doin' It Right
10. Prime Targets
11. Back For Good
12. I Can't Wait

all songs written by Kurt Baker and Wyatt Funderburk,
except "1" by Kip Brown & "9" by Baker/Palmer/Brad Marino


Produced, Engineered & Mixed by Wyatt Funderburk at Nebulon II.
Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering, Milwaukee, WI.

• Kurt Baker - Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Keys
• Wyatt Funderburk - Guitar, Bass, Keys, Backing Vocals
• Geoff Palmer - Guitar
• Kris "Fingers" Rodgers - Keys, Backing Vocals
• Adam Cargin - Drums

Lead guitar on "5" by Ven Venom.

Release Date: September 27, 2015
Label: Rum Bar Records
Catalog No.: RUM-009CD