Britpop (album)

Britpop is the third studio album by English music producer A. G. Cook. The album was released on 10 May 2024 via New Alias. It arrives 5 months after the announcement that Cook's PC Music label would cease to release any new material. Similarly to his debut album 7G (2020), the album is split into three separate discs that represent the past, present and future of Cook's artistry. The album was supported by the singles "Silver Thread Golden Needle", the title track, and "Soulbreaker".

Britpop was universally acclaimed by critics upon its release, who praised the album for its innovative-sounding production with hyperpop elements, creating a genre-bending and nostalgic listening experience. Many critics consider the album A. G. Cook's best solo body of work yet.

Background and release
Some of the material from Britpop was teased in mixes before the album's release, such as tracks "Soulbreaker" and "Equine".

Conception of the album began in 2020, while Cook lived in Montana with his partner Alaska Reid during COVID-19 lockdowns, stating "I was the only British person there and having that sense of being a bit of an alien... So a way of digging into what an A. G. Cook album could be was to use this as a strange launching pad, finding this thing that’s slightly too loaded."

Cook released "Silver Thread Golden Needle" 1 January 2024. The song was previously premiered in 2021 at Eckhaus Latta's Spring 2022 New York showcase.

Britpop was announced alongside the release of the title track on 23 February. In a press release, Cook explained the album's ethos:

""I’ve joked in the past about this sort of British invasion that goes back to Beatlemania. It’s always been interesting to me that so many PC Music artists, even if they’re still based in the UK, have really resonated with different US subcultures and even the mainstream pop songwriters out here. So many aspects of the American frontier are referencing some imported mythic idea of British history, and that’s just the beginning. I’ve also really committed to some of those associations myself, growing up with a Beatles haircut and calling my album Apple. I’ve always enjoyed finding those funny connections that expose how confusing and multifaceted culture is across all these lanes — and exploiting those coincidences.""

Cook announced the Britpop Roadshow: a series of mini residencies in Los Angeles, London and New York City across April and May to promote the album. He additionally teased the track list on TikTok in late March. Cook also launched the sites Witchfork, Wandcamp, and Wheatport as an alternate reality project that parodied Pitchfork, Bandcamp, and Beatport. These sites were made inactive after a few weeks of regular posts.

"Soulbreaker" was released as a single on 17 April, alongside an animated music video directed by Gustaf Holtenäs. Cook also began a 3-week residency at NTS Radio on 22 April to explore the album's distinct past, present, and future sections.

Music and lyrics
Disc one focuses on the 'Past' of Cook's "playful electronic" sound. It has been described as the "closest to what [people know to be] PC Music."

The 'Present' disc features mostly "delicate, close-mic vocal" guitar-oriented tracks. A lot of the songs are "one-track, or more raw". The final track on this disc "Without" is an ode to the late producer Sophie, one of Cook's closest friends and collaborators. The track is built around a "melodic nod" to her breakout single "Bipp".

The final 'Future' disc is self-described by Cook as "the most unknown and ambiguous".

Critical reception
Chal Ravens of Pitchfork described Britpop as "a rangy triple album full of shiny synths, inside jokes, and gently sentimental vocal pop" and felt that it "opens a practical portal between Cook's old universe—hard, bright, aggressively contemporary—and a seductively oppositional dimension of folklore, fantasy, fuzz rock, and magic".

Track listing
All tracks written by Alexander Guy Cook, except where noted. Credits adapted from TIDAL.

Notes
 * "Silver Thread Golden Needle" contains samples from "Show Me What" from Cook's 7G album.
 * "Britpop" interpolates "Lipgloss" by Charli XCX.
 * "Soulbreaker" interpolates "6 Miniatures: I. Lord Jesus Christ is Born", composed by Leoš Janáček.

Personnel

 * A. G. Cook – vocals, performer, producer, mixing engineer
 * Charli XCX – vocals ("Britpop", "Television", "Lucifer")
 * Cecile Believe – vocals ("Prismatic")
 * Alaska Reid – vocals ("Luddite Factory Operator", "Pink Mask")
 * Ellen Roberts – vocals ("Bewitched")
 * Addison Rae – vocals ("Lucifer")
 * Caroline Polachek – vocals ("Equine")
 * Alex Evans – mixing engineer
 * Geoff Swan – mixing engineer
 * Robin Schmidt – mastering engineer