Once upon a time it was the jukebox that made pop music. The boys threw their pocket-money in and the girls danced. Or vice versa. Indeed, the vinyl-seven inch is romantic, a sentimental medium. And if one of those two Electric-President-singles were put in a jukebox the girls (and the boys) would dance. The buttons would soon be well-worn. Is it because the songs are romantic? Partly. It's because the songs touch the very foundations of pop music: the storm and stress, the inwardness and the nonchalance, and melodies, melodies, melodies. The universe of 24-year-old Ben Cooper from Jacksonville Beach/Florida is an echo-chamber with all kinds of doors that are open to small indie within big pop. All that can also be listened to on the self-titled debut (mm 062) that was published recently. ”You have the right to remain awesome, vol. 1” begins with the organic “good ol' boys”, a carefully arranged juxtaposition of soundtracks and sound signals. A track that borrows its concentration on rhythm and its electronic oscillations from digital music. A track that matures to analogue vividness - at the latest with Ben Cooper's repetitive singing. “Dotted lines” seems to be the exact opposite: almost a folksong, carried by an acoustic guitar and a likeable melody. Garnished with all interlocking and indulging that is so characteristic for Cooper's arrangements. A soft but never sugary opulence.