Jack Cooper co-founded Modern Nature in 2019 immediately after the dissolution of his former project Ultimate Painting, with the psychedelic- and/or jazz-fueled indie folk the band’s been churning out consistently expanding upon ideas found in his various solo, collaborative, and side projects over the years. Yet on their fourth album The Heat Warps, Modern Nature express their typical brand of philosophical balladry less through a specific lens than a broad tapestry. “Our previous albums have had a story arc or a narrative that ties the albums together,” Cooper tells us while diving into the project’s influences. “This one is really a collection of songs.”
It’s telling, then, that many of the inspirational artists cited in the playlist he created for us exist well outside of Modern Nature’s own sonic lane, with Minnie Riperton being cited as an example of “how magic happens in the places between notes” and Sly & the Family Stone serving as a model for The Heat Warps’s emphasis on vocal lines. “We wanted this album to be full of songs that you could sing along to, and for the songs to be filled with voices,” he explains. “I wanted everyone to sing and for the vocals to feel like a community effort.”
Elsewhere, J Dilla’s “shifts in rhythm” get shouts alongside the “warm and spacious” sounds of Acetone. Ahead of The Heat Warps’s release this Friday via Bella Union, find all of Cooper’s picks below. You can also pre-order the record here and find tickets to their December West Coast shows and January East Coast dates here.
Richard & Linda Thompson, “Night Comes In”
Just a beautifully economic recording. I like all of the Richard & Linda albums, but this is the most stripped-down and composed. Space for days, and maybe Richard’s finest hour as a guitarist.
Acetone, “Shaker”
Another sonically perfect recording. Easy and relaxed. Warm and spacious. I didn’t know much about Acetone ’til recently, but it was a band that my old band Ultimate Painting got compared to a few times.
Portishead, “It’s a Fire”
Will Young, who was in the first line up of Modern Nature, is also in Beak> with Geoff [Barrow] from Portishead. I occasionally message him gushing about Portishead. I think these songs off the first record that are essentially just Geoff and Beth Gibbons are terrific. This and “It Could Be Sweet” are my favorites. Late night and stoned.
Sly & the Family Stone, “Hot Fun in the Summertime”
We wanted this album to be full of songs that you could sing along to, and for the songs to be filled with voices. I wanted everyone to sing and for the vocals to feel like a community effort. The Family Stone didn’t really have a lead vocalist, and that fed into The Heat Warps.
Minnie Riperton, “Les Fleur”
When you make a record with space and economy, you can hear the discrepancies in tonality, rhythm, pitch, and tone. The chorus on “Les Fleur” is a great example of how magic happens in the places between notes. Just total magic
J Dilla, “Waves”
We spoke about Dilla a lot when making this record—how small shifts in rhythm can change the feel of a song, swinging in a different way. Just making a conscious effort to shift things a little.
Tony Joe White, “Willie & Laura Mae Jones”
One of my favorite things about touring is meeting people and hanging out after shows. Our friend Marcus who books our shows in Ipswich had us back to his house after our last show there and played us this. What a great recording. A documentation of people in a room together. They don’t make them like this anymore
Michael Head & the Strands, “Something Like You”
Our previous albums have had a story arc or a narrative that ties the albums together. This one is really a collection of songs. Of course, there’s themes that run through it, and I don’t think we’ve made a record as cohesive as this, but yeah—it’s a collection of songs. One of my favorite songwriters is Michael Head, and this might be his greatest song. One of the all-time great love songs
Trad Gras Och Stenar, “Sanningens Silverflod”
What a band. My wife and I saw them again recently and it was perfect. One of our biggest influences when it comes to how we play live.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Welcome Back”
We all had a huge Neil Young phase when rehearsing and recording this album. His recent-ish film Barn is a brilliant documentary and insight into musicians interacting. A massive inspiration.
