Courtney Cooper
Courtney Cooper “The Sweetest Thing” - Cool vibes from the NYC.
Courtney Cooper – Sweetest Thing - New R&B
One of the great things we love about R&B is the sparsity of it. It doesn’t take much to set the mood, lay the vibe. Cooper achieves that “Sweetest Thing.”
With what sounds like a Strat, the song begins with an airy riff before the loops come in and Courtney’s voice flows gently through the first verse. The pre-chorus builds a bit vocally, before subtle changes in the chord progression of the chorus bring us to the first peak of “Sweetest Thing.” The space created with the limited instrumentation and BG’s work beautifully in this song that, quiet frankly, gets us in the mood for date night. (Sorry, not sorry). The mood continues to build in the second verse and chorus – but not too much. The well-executed anticipated reminds us a bit of Sade’s work. We’d love to hear an extended version of this track – but maybe creating that yearning and desire for more is her intent in how she decided to end the song.
Based in NYC, she’s got a strong library of R&B tracks that serve her well. We love the old-time piano opener of “The Last Time” that shows off a bit of her jazzy chops. “Cosmos” shows more of an EDM/trance side that is interesting as well – more atmospheric on the keyboards, less of an R&B backbeat. And there’s a host of track from her 2015 release “The Light,” that show more of a poppy side. Whichever genre she’s singing in, she’s making it work. There’s hints of Lady Gaga and Sade, with the breathiness of Aaliyah. She’s got a cool vibe, and we look forward to hearing more.