Thomas Cohen was the lead singer of a band called S.C.U.M. He formed the band when he was still a teenager and the East London based crew were closely associated with the scene that first spawned The Horrors and then TOY. The music they made was a shadowy, angsty kind of post-punk—like Joy Division with a hazy side of psych. They split in 2013. Primarily Cohen was then known as the husband of Peaches Geldof (daughter of Bob, he of the Boomtown Rats). They had two children together and moved out of the melee of London to the countryside. But in 2014 Peaches tragically passed away from a heroin overdose. She was 25, he was 23 and it was a fucking tragedy—one which he is tied to forever—but Cohen should not and will not let it define him.He started writing the songs that make up his debut solo album, Bloom Forever, as far back as 2012, inspired by the art of Townes Van Zandt, Judee Sill, and Van Morrison. Eventually, in the wake of the tragedy, he decamped to Iceland to finish writing. Undoubtedly some of those songs helped him move through the pain of loss. Thus far he's released the album's title track, "Honeymoon," and "Hazy Shades," and the sonics are entirely different from his former guise. There's a langurous warmth his solo songwriting, a melancholy baked into the rolling snare and quavering vocals. Below is the premiere of his video for "Hazy Shades" which sees Cohen's lanky frame suited up like a lost cowboy and strolling the the streets of San Fran.Townes Van Zandt, Judee Sill, Van Morrison andalien-fixated late '60s cult hero Jim Sullivan."We shot 'Hazy Shades' in San Francisco on Super 8," explains Cohen. "We wanted it to be an awkward lonely cowboy trying to find his way in the city. The outfits are all 40s and 50s cowboy stuff. We spoke to loads of locals and cab drivers to find areas that wouldn’t be there for much longer to shoot in."Bloom Forever is released via Stolen Recordings on 5.6.
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