"Missing Pieces features a far less insular feel than the majority of new indie content I’ve reviewed in this past year, but it isn’t lacking in a sharp introspective edge you’ll hear in any authentic pop recordings made in this…
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“It’s rare to receive a song so earnest and vulnerable, especially when positioned as a rock track in the song’s composition, but McCooey does the legwork to get “Just Like You” there, bridging the gap between indie darlings Bon Iver and Orville Peck as a new name to watch within the indie-folk sphere. It’s dark, it’s bursting at the seams, and by the end of the song, there’s a definite note of tinged hopefulness that is infectious.” - Clay Burton
“Is it possible to know an artist really truly in just six songs? I think that’s entirely the case in the new EP Better Days from California Bay Area’s Chris McCooey. Parlaying the roots-Americana sound that can be found in the 70s rockers like The Eagles and even James Taylor, McCooey’s enviable brand of songwriting is a call back to those stylings, but he promptly makes it his own.” - Anne Hollister
“McCooey has a voice that holds integrity and still, there’s something a little mischievous happening behind the curtains. He’s not just a run-of-the-mill singer. In the opening song, “Better Days” he molds the listener to his laid back style, with just a hint of caffeinated rhythms.” - Chadwick Easton
Latest News
Jan 6 2023
"Missing Pieces" is out on New Releases Now!
Nov 9 2022
"Just Like You", Chris McCooey's lead single for the new LP, "Missing Pieces", releases on November 25, 2022
Chris McCooey Will Release His Newest Single, “Just Like You,” in November 2022 Prior To The Record, “Missing Pieces,” To Be Released in December 2022
Nov. 21, 2022 – Singer-songwriter Chris McCooey, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is…
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Dec 10 2021
"Better Days" EP is out Today! Listen on your favorite streaming platform.
The "Better Days" EP is about reaching for the light at the end of the tunnel. It's optimism seasoned with hard truths, regret and disappointments. Wisdom doesn't come without some pain and scars and the songs of "Better Days" reflect…
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Nov 10 2021
Latest single, "We Found Love', drop Friday, November 12
"We Found Love" drops this Friday, November 12. "We Found Love" is an upbeat rocker with hints of 80's nostalgia that celebrates community, friendship and being found. The tune looks back at a time when we were in the perfect place, with the right people who knew us and loved us just as we were. In addition to Chris McCooey on vocals and acoustic guitar, the song features Max Butler on electric guitars, bass and synth, Thomas DeBourbon on drums and Anne-Marie Pleau on Hammond.
To pre-save the song or link to it on Friday, click: https://hypeddit.com/chrismccooey/wefoundlove
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Jul 23 2021
Come be in my video for "When This is Over" this Sunday, July 25 in Walnut Creek, CA
Join my Sunday, July 25 at 3pm in Walnut Creek, CA to be in my new music video for "When This is Over". I'm out doing my street, pop music gig and we're going to "spontaneously" capture our experience…
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Jul 23 2021
"When This is Over" is out now!
Check it out on your favorite service: https://chrismccooey.hearnow.com/when-this-is-over
Come listen. Sign up to the email list or connect with me on social media and let me know what you think!
“When this is Over”
Words by Chris McCooey
Music by…
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May 13 2021
"Living Out Loud" Radio Edit single is dropping Friday, 5/14! Lyric video on Youtube!
Pre-save the single here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/chrismccooey/living-out-loud-radio-edit
Sing along with the lyric video on Youtube when it premieres tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS912PWoApc
May 3 2021
Pre-save my new single "Living Out Loud (Radio Edit)"
Pre-save my new single "Living Out Loud (Radio Edit)" on Spotify: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/chrismccooey/living-out-loud-radio-edit (powered by @distrokid)
Apr 6 2021
Pop Up Performances in April and May
Chris will be grabbing a street corner in Walnut Creek for a few pop up performances in April and May. Come out to
Cypress Mini Plaza
1389 N Main St Walnut Creek CA 94596
on
- Friday, 4/16/21: 6:30-9pm
- Saturday, 4/24/21…
Mar 26 2021
Lovers and Cynics is my next single
Chris' Story
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chris McCooey is a singer-songwriter and producer who discovered his love of music as an 8th-grade boy starting his first band. The passion he’d uncovered early on in life led him to perform at haunts throughout Oakland & Berkeley where he began to form his unique sound.
Since 2018, Chris and his longtime, multi-instrumentalist friend, Max Butler, have written, produced, and recorded two EPs, 2020’s “Lovers and Cynics” and 2021’s “Better Days,” both of which maintain Chris’ Americana sound & deep lyrical storytelling.
Drawing heavily on his Bay Area roots and the grooves, twang, soul, and rock n’ roll he was raised on, Chris has cultivated a style that converges his rustic vocals and heartfelt lyrics with poignant yet upbeat Americana sounds.
Of the 2021 album, “Better Days,” Mob Angeles author Michael Rand said, “These aren’t passerby songs. Intoxicating guitar melodies and riffs, along with the breezy drums, the songs on Better Days are just what the day calls for and the doctor ordered. “
In late 2022, Chris and Max Butler released his 3rd EP, “Missing Pieces,” featuring the November 2022 lead single “Just Like You” which is inspired by the struggle to overcome the trauma that shapes identities.
Reflecting upon his music, McCooey says, “I hope my time this side of eternity counts for something, and I can leave something behind that matters or means something to somebody.”
Chris McCooey’s collective works are now available on all streaming platforms. Following a record release event for the new EP in January, Chris plans to share his music at live performances in the spring and summer of 2023.