Songwriter Sam Cohen spent long stints as a bandleader, working as the core of the ecstatic Apollo Sunshine for the entirety of the aughts and then with Yellowbirds for the first part of the 2010’s. After Yellowbirds called it a day in 2014, Cohen spent some me working on other people’s projects but still managed to write a new set of sundazzled synth-rock tunes for his first album under his own name, 2015’s Cool It.
He continued to stay active as a session player, and has returned four years later with second solo album The Future’s Still Ringing In My Ears. The album was inspired by an improptu studio session between Cohen and producer Dangermouse. Though Cohen didn’t have any songs written for the project when studio time unexpectedly became available, Dangermouse encouraged him to work on new material, which ultimately became the album.