Bradford’s Nick Cody has been building a reputation for sharp lyrics and strong melodies long enough to earn praise from the likes of Jon Gomm and Jim Glennie of James, who called his work “wonderfully innovative and explorative.” “We Are The Many” arrived April 17th as the lead single from the upcoming album Sweet Songs & Bitter Truth, out next month on Green Eyed Records under the name “Nick Cody and The Heartache”. It features Agi on vocals and Liz Hanks on cello, and it was written in direct response to protest movements around the world – specifically the dynamic between “the many” who bear the consequences of decisions made by “the few” who hold power and routinely duck accountability for it.
It’s incredible how much this song feels like sitting in a circle around a hearth and singing along to a timeless folk song. From a production standpoint, it’s remarkable, and from a songwriting perspective, it’s genuinely sharp – the way it comments on political protest with so few words and yet says so much is the mark of a lyricist who knows exactly when to stop. The cello from Liz Hanks does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting without crowding the arrangement, and the vocal interplay adds a communal warmth that suits the subject matter perfectly. It feels like a song that was always going to exist, like it was waiting to be written rather than constructed.
Sweet Songs & Bitter Truth is due next month, and if Nick Cody has more material at this level across the full record, then it should be one for the ages. Personally, I feel like we crave an album of this genre because the music industry has become a bit overly saturated with hyper-produced songs, and this stripped-down folky approach to songwriting has become a bit of a lost art, but thankfully Nick Cody has not forgotten it and is actively working on keeping that art alive.
