Singer/songwriter Peter Stone soothes the ears and stirs the heart on their delicate and gentle “Cogs,” a radiant, dreamy indie folk song exploring love, connection, and intimacy.
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Stream: “Cogs” – Peter Stone
Yes, I’m in love with everyone…
Listening to Peter Stone’s latest songs is like slipping out of the present and into a dream: Delicate and gentle, the singer/songwriter weaves warm textures together around a tender vocal performance in “Cogs,” a beautifully introspective and radiantly raw exploration of love and connection.
the cushions on my handlebars
are redder than the deepest dawn
me, Matt and Em, we play pretend
out in the woods we find a wand
Hermione and the Falcon
we carry on, we open up
in Schaeffer Park, climb the fence to the backyard
Independently released as a double single with the song “Twigs” in late November, “Cogs” is the perfect soothing soundtrack to any and every afternoon. Peter Stone’s first release of 2022 feels as intimate and hushed as it does expansive and resounding: The singer/songwriter delves deep into their depths with grace and charm, their voice glistening in a pool of light acoustic guitar and sweet, lilting piano.
No stranger to Atwood Magazine, Stone is a co-founder and former guitarist of New England-born, LA-based indie rock band The Rare Occasions; songs featuring Stone’s guitar and songwriting contributions have been streamed over 300 million times worldwide.
Yet as we have previously written, Peter Stone has found their voice as a solo singer/songwriter.
Stone introduced their solo artistry in mid-2020 with “Fells Reservoir,” evoking images of idyllic landscapes alongside a “love story tinged with summer tones,” as Atwood writer Alicia Bugallo put it. “Inspired by nature and places that the artist holds close to their heart, it reflects Stone’s journey that has taken them from Boston to Oregon to Los Angeles, and shaped their personal take on the American songwriting tradition.”
The ensuing two years have seen Stone adding to their oeuvre one track at a time through what one could ostensibly call a busy singles campaign; by the end of 2021, they had ten tracks to their name, with their latest double-single upping the ante to twelve.
For all their artistic growth in a relatively short time span, “Cogs” is in so many ways the quintessential Peter Stone song: An acoustic, dreamy wonder dwelling in a space of intimacy, love, and serene contemplation, the track captures everything we’ve come to appreciate about Stone’s nascent artistry, while still finding them evolving as a songwriter and storyteller.
now I’m driving down Jonestown
finding out how Pleasure Sighs sounds
steal away the afternoon
in my nursery themed bedroom
sky painted on the ceiling
glow in the dark pentagrams in the evening
delicate, she’s revealing
lunar lover kissing me so sweetly
I’m lost in a rabbit hole
lovely bunny she is running so speedily
Produced by Noah Weinman (aka Runnner, who also produces for Skullcrusher), “Cogs” has no chorus; instead, the track gradually grows in size and stature, evolving from a softly stirring whisper into an elegant, lightly ethereal indie folk enchantment.
and I’m learning to be alone
I’m learning to be alone
because we are all alone
we are only one
“The lyrics in ‘Cogs,’ verse by verse, stem from a different time period in life,” Stone tells Atwood Magazine. “From my childhood, to my teen years, to my mid twenties. Like a lot of songs I write, it’s swirling around my relationships with others, and how it is to love and be loved in lots of different scenarios. Love with childhood friends, and later on with romantic partners. Love with trusty cars and childhood heroes. With beloved forest landscapes and well-traveled routes and a steep paved street that we launched ourselves down as kids. Love with the feeling of falling in love itself! Love with some kind of divine spirit that traces its winding path through each of us and which I feel connects us.”
“Sometimes our relating leaves us feeling so euphoric and holy and bright, it’s hard to remember feeling any other way. Other times our relationships with how we spend our time, with our loved ones, with places, all of these – can leave us feeling so hollow and aimless and confused. It’s bridging this gap and finding a balance of these extremes that I aim to deal with in ‘Cogs.’ Reconciling the feeling of being a broken, wasted bit of machinery with the sense that we are all aspects of all-encompassing sacred creation.”
and we’re lost in a labyrinth
a laurel forest forcing you to fix
the chasm beckoning
the endless drop the wind is rushing in
bombing beacon hill
speed my red jeep on the highway to nowhere
she asks me “are we in love?”
and I said “yes my darling, I’m in love with every one”
Written during a songwriting workshop led by the singular Molly Sarlé (solo artist and member of folk group Mountain Man, with an extensive CV that includes Flock of Dimes and more), “Cogs” truly is a beautiful immersion into Peter Stone’s perspective and a reintroduction to their world. Glimmering with a warm, radiant light, it’s the kind of song that inspires all who listen – injecting just a bit of magic into our world, no matter where we are or what we’re going through at the time. Feel the love and bask in the glow of this gorgeous reflective reverie, out wherever you get your music.
and I know that falling’s fun
yes I know that falling’s fun
yes I’m in love with everyone
and endless braiding god
intertwining information
yes we are empty broken cogs
holy vessels full of blood
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