Alexa, play Alexa! by The Cool Greenhouse. Alexa, what’s the weather like in London today? Alexa, call mum. Alexa, can you write this song for me? Alexa, you’re a prick. Alexa, find me the six degrees of separation between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, while categorically filtering out any Martin Scorsese film you may try to cheat through. Alexa, you sound particularly sexy today. Alexa, please call mum. Alexa, logistically how long can someone stay in their room on their own with their Alexa before they actually become a person? Alexa, please I beg you call mum.
It was probably only a matter of time before we had a song that romantically fetishised the virtual device that we all welcome into our homes as the progressive reason to be even more lazy than we already are, but is undeniably shit at its job. Don’t read this out loud, Bezos might hear you, indoctrinate you with instagram adverts for reasons to be still be alive, and how he can make money off it. The Cool Greenhouse once again return with another clever and contemporary modern take on the apathy of the age – yet this might actually be their strongest statement yet.
If anything, it’s certainly their most antagonistically concise moment yet – a sharp entanglement where their precocious sardonicism and increasingly grating dissonance somehow mould into a pleasant whole. Low strung, repetitive yet surprisingly progressive in its fortification – it seems something here has clicked, the group finding the balance between finally itching the scratch of desire to create something accessible and ensuring the metaphorical wasp of discordance that continues to fly into your ear remains the central focus of their foundations.
Essentially, ‘Alexa!’ is an obnoxiously contemporary turn that could subtly invade your space as much as the conglomerates attempt to do. So when 10 copies of ‘The Cool Greenhouse’ turn up at your tomorrow (how about that next-day delivery ey?), remember – The Cool Greenhouse are probably the smartest band in the world.
The brand new issue of So Young is out now. It’s sold out in print but you can read the digital edition below.