When it comes to the human condition, there’s always a need for something more. The search for something seemingly missing, be it a literal physical thing or (more likely) an emotional hole that can’t ever quite be filled, is a part of human operation as much as eating and sleeping.
URL: https://www.chrismccooey.com/
There’s an undying burning, maybe that’s the meaning of life, but whatever it is, it’s the drive that keeps most folks going. For Chris McCooey, a musician based out of San Francisco, it’s the subject of his latest single “Just Like You.” Plagued by the same questions as your humble critic, the song tackles the idea of missing puzzle pieces from human life — the music video makes the song literal as McCooey tries to complete a confounding jigsaw puzzle. There’s so much to life, and so much we’ll continue chasing until we can’t chase anymore. This is “Just Like You.”
McCooey tackles a great deal in the track, with the aforementioned analysis of human longing at the center, but the wide breadth of serious subject matter doesn’t relegate the track to being a somber, sad ballad. The track almost feels optimistic, even when up against these odds, and the catchy melody by way of guitar, strings, and sparingly-used drums (to great effect!) allows McCooey to give listeners something undeniably impressive with “Just Like You.”
There are somber beats, and pensive moments, sure, but overall, there’s a heart beating for the song’s entirety that you wouldn’t find across one hundred other tracks on the radio right now — there’s something invariably human about “Just Like You” that allows the single to fully persist and dig into listeners’ memories, playing on emotional story beats of our own life narratives. Chris McCooey isn’t an expert by any means, as he’s been on the scene only a short time, but his new approach might just be the answer everyone has been looking for as it works wonders for the music he has released thus far.
At its core, “Just Like You” is a song about searching. It’s a single that promises more of what’s to come from the aptly-titled upcoming Chris McCooey album Missing Pieces, and it sets the groundwork down perfectly in a way that listeners both familiar and unfamiliar with McCooey’s work will find themselves drawn in. There’s a relatability to the single that feels indebted to the singer-songwriter’s own life experience, but the way he is able to compose such heartfelt and impactful lyrics makes the song absolutely soar for just about anyone that’ll hear it.
There’s a classic Americana flair to the track, with perhaps a bit of Orville Peck mixed in for that extra oomph, and the end result is a single that nobody expected to find but everyone could benefit from finding. It’s not like the song will change your life or bring great clarity to your own strife, but Chris McCooey is offering something profound within “Just Like You” that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else. Music has never felt so personal, and it rarely ever sounds so tectonic, but Chris McCooey has found the sweet spot between the two.
Rachel Townsend