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ON THE RISE
Some people will pursue spiritual enlightenment without ever being able to achieve it, much like a drug and trying to reach an unattainable high. This is the theme of the brand new single called “Chasing Dragons,” off of Wesley Adams Cook’s second EP titled Chasing Dragons.
“The song is about chasing spiritual experiences, but not integrating them,” says Cook, who is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer from Colorado.
Cook is a writer at heart and derives his inspiration from all kinds of avenues. In the case of “Chasing Dragons,” he was reading a book about the American bombers in World War II called “The Wild Blue.”
“I had the idea from that book for a lot of the imagery of these flying B24s, and the thought of chasing something you can never quite get to,” Cook explains.
The song has an intense vibe from the start, with a slow and steady drum beat along with a smooth, almost ominous, tone. Cook’s vocals then drop in, using vivid imagery of military history to accompany his theme. The track is catchy and thought-provoking, while using tempo changes and a solid chorus to help set the mood. Cook also finds the beat playful, adding a dynamic layer that contrasts with the darker tones and gives the song an unexpected energy.
“You’re in my headlights
But just too fast for me
Oh your golden
Treasure stolen
Got me smoking
Jet fuel when I’m lagging
Just trying to catch a dragon
I can’t reach.”
Cook’s musical journey has been a “natural unfolding,” and he has always had a knack for writing. He grew up listening to all kinds of music, ranging from oldies, to rock and R&B, to classical music and musicals. Cook is heavily inspired by his musical roots, citing artists like Sting, Elton John, Muse and The Doors as driving forces.
Cook reminisces about his first EP, titled Caught In The Middle, which he notes is a little more traditional than his most recent work. He recalls spending about 10 months car camping in Sedona, Arizona, and one morning he woke up and his intuitive nature kicked in. He knew he needed to start releasing music of his own.
Cook contacted producer Kael Alden, who pointed him toward a studio to record near Fort Collins, as well as another producer for the debut EP.
When it came to recording Chasing Dragons, brand new inspirations suddenly came over Cook about the direction he wanted to take. Cook had Alden take the lead on producing the six track EP, and he is very pleased with the finished product
“It was so different from how I made the first one,” Cook explains. “With my first EP, going in I was just like, here’s my guitar and vocals, we’ll get a drummer, and some bass. With this one, I just started to have ideas with other different styles of music. It was different than what I was expecting, but something about it feels good to me.”
Cook says his creative process can be all over the map, and it is all speculation about where his ideas may come from.
“Is it from a kind of force or energy?” Cook says. “Sometimes it is almost like a collaborative dance where I get little bread crumbs that are like, ‘here’s an idea.’ I just kind of play with it, and you never know where it could go. I like to learn a lot and I find that helps open the doors to a lot.”
It is tough to narrow down a specific genre or style for Cook’s music, but one aspect that is ever-present is his ability to utilize metaphors and imagery in his material.
“I write songs, and it’s always been something I have an affinity for,” Cook says. “I kept doing it and life kept opening up doors for me to continue to pursue it. I had people who just encouraged me along the way.”
He adds, “I found my niche of writing songs way back in elementary school, but I got more into it in high school when I learned to play the guitar. It allowed me to formulate musical composition with my writing.”
There was a time when Cook simply wanted to be a lyricist and a singer, but when he searched for musicians to join him, they didn’t play anything that even resembled what he wants to play. Everything changed after a trip to Europe where he heard the band Muse for the first time, and he had a wave of inspiration.
“I had a very sincere prayer, took a trip to Spain, and went on a trip to England with my cousin where I heard Muse,” Cook explains. “That definitely inspired me to get back into guitar, and allowed me to then create songs and formulate them the way I liked.”
Cook has more than 80 songs that are just waiting to be recorded. He is a writing machine, and is always working on something new.
“I wrote a new song just last week, and this past month probably three more,” Cook says. “That creative valve just doesn’t stop, especially if you’re using it.”
Be sure to keep up with all that is going on in Cook’s musical world, including his new EP Chasing Dragons, available on all platforms on December 6th.
ON THE RISE
As they prepare to unveil their fourth album, ‘Joy In Short Moments’, The Snuts have spoken with NME about how stepping away from touring gave them the chance to reflect on some of life’s biggest challenges and bring greater attention to mental health.
Their first album since 2024’s upbeat ‘Millenials’ follows a rare break from the road over the past year. During that time, frontman Jack Cochrane also experienced a major change in his personal life as he welcomed his first child.
Along with getting used to fatherhood, the singer began thinking about deeper questions that the demanding touring lifestyle had previously left little room to consider. His reflections on growing up, dealing with loss and understanding what success really means gradually found their way into his writing, eventually shaping the direction of the band's more personal new album.
Fans were first introduced to the album earlier this year through ‘Summer Rain’, an emotional track exploring postnatal depression and the “fear of the future”. They later returned during the summer with the more hopeful ‘Defibrillator’, encouraging listeners to move beyond negative thoughts about themselves and find comfort in connecting with other people.
Speaking to NME about the creative shift behind their fourth record, Cochrane explained: “By taking a conscious break from life on the road and making records, my world opened up to let so much more of the real world in,” he said. “For the first time I was living then writing, not writing while trying to live.”
He also described how the change helped the band approach recording differently, adding: “It unlocked a new process that the band had been crying out for,” he continued. “The studio sessions were set up to allow us to be friends and not colleagues. Distraction and external pressures were completely eradicated from the recording environment, allowing us to trust our gut and have the conversations we needed to as humans.”
In the remainder of the interview, Cochrane also discusses his new role as an ambassador for mental health charity CALM and talks about starting a podcast designed to encourage more artists to speak honestly about their personal struggles.
NME: Hi Jack, congratulations on the new album. You’ve said that this record was about addressing the topics that you previously tried to hide from. What kinds of questions did you find yourself confronting?
Jack Cochrane: “I would say mainly, ‘What do I need to be happy?’… Eeek! It’s a big one I know, but having set out with the title ‘Joy In Short Moments’, I was able to spend my time searching for them and allow joy to do what joy does: compound and relieve the stresses of the modern world.”
That’s not the easiest question to find yourself confronting. Did you manage to find any answers along the way?
“Ultimately yes. With the completion of this record I was able to find a much happier healthier version of myself I had been so long yearning for.”
The album sees you deal with new themes, but musically we also see you return to the guitar-led sound from your early days. Did revisiting those roots make you notice how much has changed since you were starting out?
“For sure. We were able to remove any snobbery from the process. We’re no longer new kids on the block and with that came a new found ability to be really honest about the kind of noises we wanted to make and the type of artists that had originally inspired us.”
This album goes hand in hand with you becoming an ambassador for CALM and launching your own podcast dedicated to checking in with fellow artists. Why was it important for you to get involved in the conversation about mental health?
“I think conversations and role models are absolutely essential for young people. I wanted to have more and do my best to be one. Every song on this record was born out of unfiltered, open and honest conversation.”
From talking to people on your podcast, including Louis Tomlinson, and using your platform to open up this dialogue, is there anything interesting that you’ve noticed?
“I think that more often than not, young men are finding it difficult to combat the struggles they are facing in this modern world. To me it feels like there are less and less spaces and opportunities to have meaningful, healing conversations…”
Having had those conversations yourself and explored them on the album, it must be somewhat daunting to now put it out into the world. Is there something that you hope people take from it?
“I’d like people to feel less alone after hearing the record and the themes intertwined with it. I think music is more than just heartbreak and I hoped in the writing of this record I would be able to highlight some more universally relevant topics.”
You have your headline tour coming up next month. What can we expect from the shows?
“Big smiles and big sound all round! It will be the most self assured Snuts tour to date.”
‘Life In Short Moments’ is out now Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Their UK and Ireland tour kicks off next month with an opening night in Dundee. Visit here for tickets and check out a list of tour dates below.
NOVEMBER 2026
19 – Dundee, Livehouse
20 – Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
21 – Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
23 – Dunfermline, Alhambra Theatre
24 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
26 – Sheffield, Octagon Centre
27 – Nottingham, Rock City
29 – Norwich, UEA
30 – Hull, City Hall
DECEMBER 2026
1 – Bristol, Prospect Hall
3 – Leeds, O2 Academy
4 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
8 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
9 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
10 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
JANUARY 2027
26 – Belfast, Limelight
27 – Galway, Róisín Dubh
28 – Dublin, Academy
