Nathan Tucker of Portland’s Cool American—a name swiped from Europe’s version of Cool Ranch Doritos—has had his work compared to the likes of Modern Baseball and Motion City Soundtrack. While apt, it’s all a roundabout way of referencing the influence they all share: The Weakerthans songwriter John K. Samson. The A.V. Club is premiering Cool American’s second release this year, You Can Win A Few, below, which sees Tucker and company working their way through wordy, introspective rock songs with confidence. And though Tucker’s influences are clear throughout, he finds a way to make the songs on You Can Win A Few have a distinctive flavor, which is a good thing given the band’s tongue-in-cheek descriptor of its sound as “Dorito pop.”
You Can Win A Few is out this Friday on Good Cheer Records, and Cool American’s tour dates can be found below.
Cool American tour dates
7/29—Portland, OR—Clinton Street Theater w/ Broken Beak, Alien Boy, Robot Boy
8/5—Arcata, CA—House Show*
8/6—Oakland, CA—House Show *
8/7—Santa Cruz, CA —Subrosa Info Shop*
8/8—Los Angeles, CA—House Show*
8/9—Orange County, CA—OCDIY*
8/10—Reno, NV—Spectre Records*
8/11—Salt Lake City, UT—The Underground*
8/12—Boise, ID—High Note Cafe*
8/13—Bow, WA—Laflamapalooza*
8/14—Olympia, WA—House Show*
*with Naked Hour