Driverless Cars

On May 21st, Will Joseph Cook came out with his new single, “Driverless Cars” which I highly recommend! The lyrics of this song mostly involve a repeating chorus about feeling uncertain, much like a driverless car. Because the lyrics are repetitive, Cook played around a lot with the instrumentals in this song.

The song begins with a bass line and is followed by a guitar mirroring the melody Cook is singing. This part of the song can be categorized by the sporadic vocals and sparsely orchestrated instrumentals. When the second verse hits, an island-y sounding beat drops to spice things up. At this point there is a lot of harmonizing going on with the vocals which sound very angelic. When the outro begins, a new guitar line is introduced, and Cook brings the main melody up an octave making it feel extra emotional. After further repetitions of the lyric, “those driverless cars”, the guitar picks up the melody once again. The song ends with a faraway sounding voice giving directions.

This song somehow manages to feel both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. It is very mellow and calming despite the message being somewhat worrisome. Many of us feel uncertain and lost which this song depicts through the idea of something many people are apprehensive about, driverless cars. Cook in general does an incredible job of describing the fears of the late millennial/gen Z generations which is no different in this song. Though the messages of his music can be dark, Cook does a great job of leaving listeners feeling optimistic which is what we all need right now. The music video for this song is very cool as well so be sure to check it out here!