Fool’s Gold – BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

Singer/songwriter @Cobimusic wears his emotions up front in bluesy rocker “Fools Gold” from his new album “Songs From The Ashes”

COBI, “Fools Gold”

Cobi has long been a talent on my radar, since his days in the fondly remembered pop/rock ensemble Gentlemen Hall. He’s been solo though for several years, and his songs have been anchored often by bluesy rock arrangements. The west coast-based singer/songwriter debuted his new album Songs From The Ashes last week on You Tube, and I was happy to watch the intimate performance as the affable and humble Cobi shouted out long time fans who were watching him weave through the impressive songs from the album. One of my favourites, “You’re Mine”, was a previous single, as were fan favourites “Everything You Need” and “Queen Of The Damned”. “Fools Gold” is the opening track, a new song that painstakingly recalls a manipulative relationship that made the protagonist a paranoid “merchant of of pain on the road” believing that “your love is an illusion”, pushing it away from an irreparable broken heart. “Fools Gold” unleashes the emotions buried deep under long-healed scars, and Cobi’s guitar work is nothing short of fantastic, seething the pain while Cobi sings his story. Once you hear “Fools Gold” you’ll want to hear all of what Cobi has to offer in Songs From The Ashes. In addition to the studio version above, you can also check out Cobi’s recent acoustic performance of “Fools Gold” below.

Meet London-based Irish folk/pop singer @iamBLANID with the gorgeous “Fool’s Gold”

BLÁNID, “Fool’s Gold”

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to be in a Zoom meeting, part of which was a demo listening session. One of the highlights of that was hearing London-based Irish singer/songwriter Blánid for the first time with her recent single “Fool’s Gold”. After receiving some notoriety for scaling back the 2000’s europop hit “Dragostea Din Tei” as the acoustic “Numa Numa” last year, she has further invested in her soaring voice and superb storytelling skills in “Fool’s Gold”. If you enjoy Hozier or Sinéad O’Connor, “Fool’s Gold” is tailor-made for you. It has a deliberate pace that would otherwise be difficult to contain if not for the beautiful control and phrasing in Blánid’s voice. While it’s not for everyone, “Fool’s Gold” will find favour with folk/pop fans, and I think alternative and college radio stations would love it.

Mixing it up with two recent duets with Florida’s @3letterznuk – “I Wonder” with NYC’s @MarcoFoster_, and a reboot of “Fool’s Gold” with @AaronCarter

3LETTERZNUK and MARCO FOSTER, “I Wonder”

AARON CARTER and 3LETTERZNUK, “Fool’s Gold” (remix)

I’m one for connecting the dots with music, and sometimes it takes me to interesting places whether in person or with the songs themselves.

So I had got word that NYC’s rising and talented singer/songwriter Marco Foster – always on my radar – had a new song out called “I Wonder”. It offers a sweeter-than-usual vocal by Marco that works in beautiful contrast to a fun rap by Florida’s 3letterznuk, newly signed to Sony. Both styles come together to make the song really gel memorably.

And in discovering this winning pairing, I found that 3letterznuk’s re-emergence on an earlier single this past summer latched on to another performer’s own re-branding – fellow Floridian, Aaron Carter. “Fool’s Gold” was initially released a few years ago and was included on Aaron’s first album in 16 years (and first as an adult!) called LØVË, released earlier this year. A remix was an awfully good idea, letting 3letterznuk’s verses flow freely over the beginning of the song, allowing a segue for the lush production and a sincerely restrained and bright vocal by Aaron that has a lot of delightful breathy qualities about it too.

Both “I Wonder” and the remix of “Fool’s Gold” happen to have 3letterznuk in common, but they’re true 2018 sleepers waiting for you to discover them.