At The Barrier perennial Phil Cooper returns with his first solo album in five years. Playing Solitaire is a triumph, packed with high quality songs that reflect upon issues that affect us all and – crucially – offers guidance and direction.
Release Date: 2nd May 2025
Label: Self Release
Formats: CD / Digital
FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS
Bristolian singer-songwriter, session musician, mixing engineer and producer Phil Cooper is a frequent presence in the pages of At The Barrier. Whether that’s as a solo artist, as ⅓ of folk/Americana trio The Lost Trades or even as a contributor (check out his informative commentary on Cat Stevens’ 1971 masterpiece Teaser and the Firecat and read the words of praise he lavishes on long-term inspirations Neil Finn and Crowded House…) Phil Cooper has a knack of coming up with the goods.
Phil has released numerous albums since his 2016 solo debut, Things I’ll Never Say – most recently, his 2020 offering, These Revelation Games, an album that had our reviewer drooling in delight and ransacking his kitchen drawers for his egg shaker. And, now, he’s back. New album, Playing Solitaire is a triumphant return; a collection of high-quality songs that reflect on issues that affect us all and which, crucially, offer hope, guidance and direction.
NOT A HIATUS…
The songs that constitute Playing Solitaire have all been conceived during the five-year gap since These Revelation Games. I deliberately refrained from calling that gap a ‘hiatus,’ because it wasn’t any such thing. By his own admission, Phil had to put his new songs on a ‘back burner’ whilst he focused his attentions upon his work with The Lost Trades. It’s been worth that wait; of that, there’s no doubt whatsoever.
A SOLID STATEMENT OF INTENT
It’s lead single, Still Holding My Breath, that gets Playing Solitaire underway. “Look out world, I’m here to stay,” declares Phil, as the song gets off to its bright start. There’s an Elvis Costello tone to Phil’s vocals, especially during the song’s resounding “I’m still holding my breath – I don’t think I’m out of my depth” chorus. The crystal-clear vocals signify a solid statement of intent, ably supported by the positive rhythm of Phil’s strummed acoustic guitar.
The lyrics to the slower-paced I Wonder If You Cried give consideration to the impact of a lapsed relationship, as Phil ponders whether his former partner suffered from the breakup as much as he so clearly did. The guitars tinkle and Phil sings with intimacy and passion as thoughts of what could have been pass through his mind: “It’s only curiosity, but it got the better of me…”
IT ISN’T ALL SELF-REFLECTION
The bright, sparkly, reflective That Easy Road – the most recent of the album’s three singles – dispense the wise advice that the easy answer is rarely the right one. “When I find that easy road, I’m easily bored,” sings Phil, “And when I sail on stormy seas, I know I’m not alone.” That’s a chain of thought that we can all learn from.
Playing Solitaire isn’t all self-reflection, as Phil demonstrates with the delightful Nectan’s Glen, his peaceful ode to the Cornish beauty spot of that name. Sung to a tasteful accompaniment of fingerpicked guitar, statements like: “Here, a tiny slice of Avalon, of paradise,” entice the listener to drop whatever activity is currently underway and head for that paradise, right now.
WHAT WE LOSE IS MORE THAN A LUXURY
For Bijou, Phil turns his attention to the uncertain future faced by many grassroots music venues up and down the country. It’s a subject that I’m certain will touch a nerve with many At The Barrier readers as, to a jazzy, summery, guitar figure, Phil considers the great events that have taken place in a fated venue – things “…worth more than gold… a jewel in the crown of the nation.” And, in a swipe at those who put personal, transient, gain ahead of musical passion: “When will you see what you now fail to see – what we lose is more than a luxury,” Phil makes a worthy point.
We retain a jazzy mood, this time with a ragtime flavour, for Beauty in the Cracks, the third of the three singles that preceded Playing Solitaire. Phil’s voice soars as he sings the impassioned lyrics which, once again, dispense sound advice to those with a tendency to let life’s events and encounters wear them down. And I love that double bass line that underpins the whole song!
DEVASTATING SONGS THAT DESERVE TO HEARD
Sharp, bright, guitar provides the counterpoint to Phil’s comforting vocals for Revive, another song that touches upon the subject of stepping back from the pressures of daily life, before Phil assumes the persona of a front-line WW1 medic for the devastating They Will Call Us Angels. This song is a long-time live favourite. Phil’s vocals reflect the agony of someone trying to cleanse his mind of dreadful memories as he sings lines like: “I have seen such things to make me think I’m already in Hell. And, yet, day-by-day, I see more…” It’s an excellent song, and it deserves to be heard.
Closing track, Directionless, is a song that I could well imagine being written by David Crosby. The contemplative lyrics find Phil attempting to locate his place and his destiny in an ever-changing world. It’s yet another wonderful song to round off a top-quality album.
Watch the official video to That Easy Road – the most recent of the three single to precede Playing Solitaire – below:
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