Over five years or so the COWTOWN name has been occasionally posted and sometimes pasted on the walls and windows of the Leeds DIY scene. The actual names of the actual members of the actual COWTOWN who grace this latest album (CD, vinyl and download - each managed by a different label) are not easy to track down. But Jon Nash, Dave Shields and "Hils" are definitely implicated. One or more of these might at one time have been influenced by admirable musicians from Chicago, whose cattle market is probably much larger than the one to be found in Otley.
The plan (it's as plain as a pikestaff) was to have as much of a party on one CD as certified hedonologists could install. And as a result, for those who crave reckless abandon with (or without) stimulants, strobe lights, fireworks and dancing with independent limbs "Pine-Cone Express" sounds the very sort of thing to play when things are starting to look like they might not get out of control.
In such right hands as those possessed by COWTOWN, a 1977 Korg Micro Preset, a 1986 Casio SK1, a drum kit and a guitar only need a tangential voice or two and it's all done. Although Jon Nash (a virtuoso bass player in former bands like THE DRAGON RAPIDE) is present there is, as far as I can tell, no bass as such. The band make do with chunky parts from guitar and Casio to pummel the diaphragm and shake the dangly parts. Drumming is on the nicely heavy side. There is a cunningly Cubist representation of the wonderful sound of George Harrison's opening chord from "A Hard Day's Night" on "Sick of Ketchup". And while I do love both tune and title for "Kitty Runs Away From Garlic" my favourite part is probably the guitar part in "Science". Being the party bore, I would probably want to sit and listen to that bit all night.
All in all, there are plenty of riffs, tunes, klangs and exclamations. More than enough to titillate even the most jaded of post-mathrock snorecore buffs. It's mostly instrumental, but when voice comes in the semantic balance still doesn't move any closer to the rational side. If anything it's the opposite, While an ancient Casio isn't normally called on to tell detailed stories of extreme dancing, the presence of a lyric does tend to raise expectations of meaningful words to pass on to the curious.
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Fortunately, I can offer very little. I suspect that some of what is sung or shouted would fall a little short of the good advice that might be offered by The Department for Children, Schools and Families. What I can report is that the tracks are inventive, a bit crazy, surprisingly melodic and really very chirpy.
The outstanding DJ tracks would be "I'm In Your House 1 and 2", dropping somewhere between QUACK QUACK and BILGE PUMP (for those who know their Leeds DIY) or maybe between DEERHOOF and HELLA for those who are not so sure of their LS6 bearings. In its opening version the tune opens up in the riffland of (maybe) Babylon in Burning. It's that gleeful happiness in mixing heaviness with the twee bleating of some of the Casio lines that gives the whole thing its characteristic (and very enjoyable) sound. A very distant cover of "Beat It" closes proceedings, as I suppose it should. (but I'm not sure if it appears in all formats - it's a CD secret track at least)
www.chinchillatone.co.uk/cowtown
www.myspace.com/cowtownsuperstars
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