Cougar Microbes

Electric Tickle Machine is the ideal indie band. Cut-off denim shorts, day glow shades, lo-fi mastering, wavey moustaches, frenetic energy, ironic lyrics, an album cover with a nipple on the cover…whoa…what!?Yes, a nipple… but a nice one. How serious can anyone take a first album with the blatant use of a nipple to grab your attention? I suppose it could be viewed as good marketing.

With the hilarious name/exposed mammary one would expect a group of sarcastic misfits informing us not to eat the yellow snow a la Zappa or Ween. But surprise surprise, these unsigned Brooklynites have crafted a mixed bag of rollicking genre-spanning tunes on their first entry: ‘Blew It Again‘. This album is a legitimate contender for one of the top 10 rookie albums of the past year (if I had actually reviewed it when it came out 5 months ago). Their fusion of garage, fuzzed-out scapes and psychedelia, sing/shout vocal progression, acoustic strumming, and always dependable hand claps keeps you on your toes and has you craving for more before immediately shifting to another style altogether.

The undeniably catchy “Part of Me” ironically chimes “everyday we get a little more invisible, no heads are turning when we’re walking down 1st Avenue, buy a puppy it will make you more presentable, buy a dollar for a whisper a man on the moon… part of me dies when you’re not around, part of me comes to life when you’re not around“. the best love songs offer glimpses into the artist’s psyche without beating you over the head with sentimental crap. “Gimme Money“, shouts “Gimme Money… I see something that I want, its nice and shiny shiny shiny… I’ll be a good boy and not lose my new toy, i want to feel strong like every other boy“.

It’s Iggy Pop fronting the Clinic with a deadpan delivery of being owed something grand by society. The entire album is streaming on their website, check it out.

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Guest post from Adam, aka CougArt CouGarfunkel.

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TRACKS:

Electric Tickle Machine – Gimme Money

Buy the whole album, Nipple cover included, here

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club burst onto the scene in 2000 with ‘B.R.M.C.‘, a rollicking, reverb-drenched, fuzz laden album of face punch rock. “Love Burns” from that LP still has the capacity to send chills down my forearms. Their follow up LP, “Take Them On, On Your Own” offered more of the same power that could steam-roll you flat if you weren’t bothering to pay attention, but offered little departure from ‘B.R.M.C.’ and fell flat for me.

And then along came ‘Howl‘, an album that if I hadn’t seen them perform live, I wouldn’t believe it was even the same band. How a band can go from the Jesus and Mary Chain to some back country gospel and blues in 2 years I will never know. It’s unabashed departure from their first two LP’s is so drastic that I’m very skeptical they could really mean any of it… an inside joke where they laugh a little on the inside when they coo “I will walk with Jesus, till I can’t go any more.” But that album is shit hot, inside joke or not.

‘Baby 81‘ offered a return to their original sound, but unfortunately the old sound resulted in an album of forgettable haze and noise, an average 90s throw-back album in modern day 2007. Enter ‘Live‘, a 2 DVD set with a bonus live CD. The CD covers three 2007 sold out shows in Berlin, Dublin and Glasgow and is basically just a random selection from the DVD, which is the real draw here (and which has been getting some solid reviews). Now, my idea of a solid live album is one that captures something that a studio version cannot: energy, showmanship, and a continuous stream of songs exactly as they appeared in concert, with the misplaced distortion, the occasional amplifier feedback, the short jokes between songs, the screams from the crowd, even the annoying chatter in the background.

But why an accomplished act, whose live shows happen to be their lifeblood, resort to a mixed bag of tunes from three different nights – three nights of varying emotion and vigor, of different weather, of different lunches, of different bus rides and fans – I will never know. A random assortment of songs with no intensity is the last attribute that should be attached to the term “live”. The songs that make up this album offer no heart and very few tracks should be repeated multiple times. If I want to hear the real BRMC, I’ll go back to the original studio cuts or to another live show.

My ideal BRMC album includes their trademark distorted melodies, with a heavy dose of their “Howl” inspired folk. Word on the street is that we’re going to get that from their March release ‘Beat the Devil’s Tattoo‘. I’m looking forward to the new album and hoping to forget ‘Live‘.

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Review by Adam, Aka Simon & Cougarfunkel

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TRACKS-

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -Love Burns

With the accessibility of music today, hearing bands and their influences through their music is inevitable and unsurprising. Unfortunately, for every appealing mockery you get 3,000 rip-offs. Robbers On High Street aping Spoon comes to mind and, of course, the popular rip-off artist of the moment Owl City, who practically admitted to copying The Postal Service sound.

Occasionally there are the rare examples where you say to yourself, “Wow, this sounds exactly like , <insert popular, genre defining band> but it’s still great!” and that’s just it; an act can tastefully wear their influences on their sleeves without sounding talentless.

For example, without Joy Division‘s moody, melancholic expression there would be no Interpol. The Brothers Wilson paved the way for the Fleet Foxes with their intricate and lush harmonies. Regardless of how ridiculous it may seem for preppy, educated white kids to dabble in world and afrobeat rhythms, the Talking Heads beat Vampire Weekend to the punch by over 30 years.

Although on a much smaller scale, Daddy Lion fall into the latter category. The unsigned band from Washington D.C sound like all of their influences (listed on their myspace) and they’re all the better for it. A hint of Joy Division can be heard on ‘Falling to Pieces‘, Hüsker Dü can be heard on ‘Just Die Young‘ and ‘Morning‘ could easily be a Dinosaur Jr. B-side slow burner.

According to NPR, it’s a bedroom breakup album by a semi-stalker using the name “Daddy Lion” as a pseudonym… you know… a typical stalker move. But stalker or not, his varying display of songs make for a good listen, and even though it’s a “break-up” album it doesn’t bog down with sadness.

Although they only have a 6-song EP to their credit, they cover a lot of ground in those precious 19 minutes, mining the past 30 years of pop influences. My hope is that they hone in on a specific genre for their follow-up, or risk falling into that previously mentioned latter category.

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This post written by Adam, aka Simon & Cougarfunkel

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Tracks available from http://daddylion.bandcamp.com/