Missing Pieces is Chris McCooey's third record. It’s an Americana anthology examining loss, long suffering and the desire to be known and loved. Chris is joined by friend and collaborator, Max Butler (Chuck Prophet) and a cast of talented musicians.
"Missing Pieces features a far less insular feel than the majority of new indie content I’ve reviewed in this past year, but it isn’t lacking in a sharp introspective edge you’ll hear in any authentic pop recordings made in this period. This edge leaves the rather elegant “Well Well” sounding incredibly ominous and feeling just a little surreal beside the conventionality of a truly thoughtful number like “Raise the Roof.” Rather than fantasizing about worlds inaccessible to us, Chris McCooey is taking us on a wandering adventure through the scenes that live inside of his mind; each of their stories is arguably representative of a different facet within his multilayered style of music." - Mindy McCall / IndiePulse Music
"There’s a lot of introspective thought in Missing Pieces, but it manifests in such a way that never repels listeners with personal commentary so much as it attracts us with relatable observations. You can’t ignore the sardonic lyrical charms of “Just Like You,” “Bigger Than the Both of Us,” and the brilliant “On My Way Back Home,” and no matter how you interpret the tracklist as a complete piece, the overall theme is one of consistent antipathy towards the status quo in contemporary rock. McCooey just doesn’t care about mainstream limits of flamboyancy or indulgence, and his extroverted attitude in this album reflects as much." - Heather Savage / Top Buzz Magazine
"This is likely the best set of modern alternative rock tracks one disc to come out this season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if other critics shared my sentiments. Chris McCooey’s Missing Pieces is an intense offering that is boldly revealing of its creator’s many talents as a songwriter. As a confirmed music nerd, I don’t think it’s possible to listen to Missing Pieces without feeling McCooey’s hard-clutching of the guitar in a lot of this material, and his respect for the melodic canvas it affords his brush-like words is beautiful. I was expecting a lot out of this record just based on pedigree alone, but having listened to it now several times, I can say it’s much more intriguing than I initially expected." - Garth Thomas / The Hollywood Digest
"Missing Pieces is so much more than just a love letter to the hardcore fans who have found Chris McCooey through his celebrated 2020 EP Lovers and Cynics; to me, it’s a confessional work coming straight from his heart. He comes in raw with these songs and doesn’t let up through any portion of the tracklist, and skeptical as I was about the buzz his sound has received, I can’t say he doesn’t earn it here. There will be other albums boasting vintage cues similar to those in Missing Pieces this season, but don’t be fooled by imitations – Chris McCooey’s new LP is the hipster rock record you need to be hearing right now." - Mark Druery / IndieShark
Written, recorded, and produced in and around Oakland, California by Chris McCooey and Max Butler, Missing Pieces features Max Butler (electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and synth), Jackson Felton (percussion), Nat Butler (violin and bass), Jennifer Jolly (piano and keys), Ariel Wang (violin), Stephanie Railsback (viola), Lewis Patzner (cello), and Thomas de Bourban (synth).