Guitar pop extraordinaire Ben Cook, now operating under the name GUV, has returned with the sparkling title track “Warmer Than Gold,” the effervescent second single from his upcoming album, ‘Warmer Than Gold’, set for arrival on January 30th via Run For Cover Records. The track highlights the combination of untouchable hooks, danceable beats, and swirling guitar textures that define this new chapter for Cook, effortlessly blending elements of Britpop, baggy, classic indie pop, and first-wave shoegaze through his unique lens. The album is a widescreen culmination of Cook’s musical journey, which stretches back to his childhood growing up between Toronto and England, through his years with bands like No Warning and Fucked Up, and his prolific solo work as Young Guv.
The album, which retains the hooky spirit of his acclaimed double albums ‘GUV I & II’ and ‘GUV III & IV’, adds a decidedly rhythmic element informed by classic Madchester and Britpop, resulting in an album defined by a feeling of unstoppable motion. Cook deployed this expanded sonic palette—inspired by everyone from the Beastie Boys to Primal Scream—as a vehicle to talk about the cultural erosion of the cities he has been moving through for decades, explaining that ‘Warmer Than Gold’ is about “slipping through two worlds” and searching for something real. The record features an all-star cast of creatives, including producer James Matthew Seven (JMVII), Darcy Baylis, Hatchie, and Meg Mills of Turnstile, and was made in a spontaneous, one-take spirit between multiple continents.
At under 45 minutes, ‘Warmer Than Gold’ compacts a lot of energy, with songs that hit like time-elapsed shots of a busy urban intersection at night. Opener “Let Your Hands Go” is a stadium-sized rave rock belter, and the title track introduces the record’s core themes: “Paper dreams yeah they all turn cold / Lookin’ for something warmer than gold.” The record also features the shimmering dream pop of the Hatchie duet “Never Should Have Said” and the Sarah Records-inspired chime of “Seaside Story,” co-written with Meg Mills, marking the arrival of perhaps the best work of Cook’s career.
GUV – ‘Warmer Than Gold’ album track list:
- Let Your Hands Go
- Blue Jade
- Warmer Than Gold
- Thorns In My Heart
- Out of This Place
- Chasin Luv
- Seaside Story
- Oscillating
- Hello Miss Blue
- Never Should Have Said
- Crash Down Feeling
- September Grey
