Exclusive Premiere: Cory Wong Shares New Album ‘The Optimist’

Tomorrow, guitarist Cory Wong will issue his sophomore solo album The Optimist. JamBase is pleased to present an advanced stream of the guest-filled record ahead of Friday’s official release.

Wong enlisted support from his regular Vulpeck collaborator Antwaun Stanley, as well as Sonny Thompson and The Hornheads of Prince’s band, Robbie Wulfsohn of Ripe and Ben Rector to help record the 8-song The Optimist. Three sessions were held over a total of six days with additional contributions coming from Joe Savage, KATIS and others.

“I’m so stoked about this new record! I wanted to share the part of my personality that keeps a positive and optimistic outlook on circumstances and life in general,” Wong said. “I felt like this collection of songs really captures that vibe, and the collaborations and writing process really had a lot to do with that. For most of the sessions, I booked them a few days in advance without any songs completely finished. I rifled through my voice-memo song ideas on my phone and picked the ones I wanted to elaborate on. What I ended up getting were a lot of raw instincts from myself as a writer, and also the instincts of the band playing with me. We recorded the rhythm tracks, and then I sent them off to the collaborators I wanted to work with.”

Wong is currently on tour in the U.S. in support of The Optimist with European dates booked in October. Stream The Optimist in advance of tomorrow’s release below:

The Optimist Tracklist

1. Jax
2. Light As Anything (Feat. Robbie Wulfsohn)
3. ’91 Maxima
4. Jumbotron Hype Song (Feat. Antwaun Stanley & Sonny Thompson)
5. Sitcom
6. Juke On Jelly (Feat. KATIS & Marti Fischer)
7. The Optimist
8. Massive Action