Cougar Microbes

 Have you ever been painting whilst there was a riot outside your window? I have. I was listening to ‘IFUCKINGLOVEYOU‘ by Big Black Delta. It was poignant.

It was as chaotic as it was beautiful in equal measures (Try mixing M83 to The Strokes), much like what was on my canvas in contrast to the thieving bastards kicking in windows outside.

Jonathan Bates, of whom Big Black Delta is his solo project states, it’s all about context: “If you didn’t have standard pop music as a reference, what would your pop music sound like?”

Well, Batesy you have a ruddy good point. Anyways, I suppose we should talk about you now.

‘BBDLP1‘ is the debut album from this creative wizard who incidently has worked extensively with similar mastermind Anthony Gonzalez aka M83.

It would be easy to say that this is where BBD have got their chops, but I think that would be doing them a great disservice. It would be also unfair to say phrases like ordered chaos to describe this LP. ‘BBDLP1‘ is the work of a soundscape artist who happens to have all the traits of a gifted and concise songwriter too.

‘IFUCKINGLOVEYOU‘ is a bomb exploding on a Picasso. All the beauty merging with all the ugly; The tight melodies are shards penetrating the canvas and residing deep beneath a surface of colour and chaos. There are some great sounds in this song, from angular bass synths to the huge choir that it opens with. The vocals seem to jerk from aching, emotive phrases to the manic punk rock banshee wails.

In the same vein, the dark moment of joy that is ‘Roost‘ and brooding, vocoder lead ‘Put The Gun On The Floor‘ that opens the album, roll like a train through the night; chugging and swelling in a vast space, pistons exploding into life.

As I said before there, minus the instrumentals such as the closer ‘Gimme A Ride‘ (that does sound like it belongs on the opening credits to ‘The Hitcher), these are for all intents and purposes pop songs, but they have been laboured over with some terrific sounds. ‘Betamax‘ is almost kitsch but rocks along 80′s fashion like Talking Heads.

Going back to what Jonathan Bate‘s said about pop music, I think the best way to describe ‘BBDP1‘ is an 80′s pop song that’s been completely fucked with. For the good of all mankind.

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Post by T.R Wicks

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TRACKS:

Huggin & Kissin by Big Black Delta

New York legends The Strokes are back, with their highly anticipated new album ‘Angles‘. Almost five years since the release of ‘First Impressions of Earth‘, it seems fair to say that their biggest fans (myself included) have been waiting on this album like the second coming of the messiah. The amount of teasers that proliferated youtube and other sites before D-day proved how high expectations stand.

On explaining the album’s name guitarist Albert Hammond Jr stated that “it’s what it sounds like. It comes from five different people.” On the other hand Nic Valensi was not so enthusiastic expressing his dissatisfaction towards the way the album was made and being quoted as saying that Julian Casablancas was often absent or recorded separately, sometimes leading Valensi to record his guitar parts alone in the studio. So much for letting bygones be bygones…

Nevertheless this album works and after a five year break we weren’t expecting less. A healthy dose of stabbing and ill-tempered guitars, a glass of Moretti‘s masterful beats, a splash of Casablanca‘s unique deep/dry howl… all the ingredients that made The Strokes one of the best rock’n'roll bands in circulation have been recovered on ‘Angles‘.

The album opens majestically with ‘Machu Picchu‘, where guitars smoothly imitate the beat of synthesisers. ‘Under Cover of Darkness‘, the first single, is probably the track that most follows a ‘Strokesian‘ tradition through its prodigious rhythm, rage and garage atmosphere.

‘Taken For a Fool‘ is in my opinion one of the highlights of the album; its ambitious rhythm and Casablancas‘ unique cry for ‘Mama‘ definitely makes it one of those songs that will stay in your head for a long time. It is even more sensational live and I would strongly recommend watching their performance on Letterman. The band also seem keen to add new beats and sounds to the mix offering a more electronic vibe on some trakcs as evidenced by ‘Games‘ or ‘Two Kinds of Happiness‘.

‘Angles‘ is not as raw as ‘Is this It‘ or dark as ‘First Impressions of Earth‘ but it should be celebrated as a fantastic return for the quintet; the members all participated and it works as a result of it. Ultimately the tracks complement each other perfectly making this a great album rather than a collection of great songs.

Moretti and Hammond cut their afros, Casablancas is not as drunk, Valensi doesn’t look like a hobbit anymore…. more than a decade has passed since we first discovered them, and they have changed, we have changed… let’s all appreciate that. Welcome back!

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Post by the irrepressible Olivia

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TRACKS:

A few weeks ago Papa Cougar and I shared an earphone each, and a tube journey home, as he played me Chicago’s Pet Lions. They were, he informed me, well overdue a review at Cougar HQ. Without hesitation I jumped at the opportunity to spout my opinionated take on debut EP ‘Soft Right’.

Let’s start off by addressing the elephant in the room; you’d be unlikely to listen to this release without immediately noticing striking similarities to The Strokes. Firstly, lead singer Karl Østby’s vocals are certainly delivered in a similar vein to Julian Casablancas’, though perhaps they lack some of the panache. This is compounded by guitar sounds borrowed from ‘Room On Fire’ and Moretti-esque, simple but effective, straight rock drum patterns.

However, Pet Lions are not rip-off merchants by any stretch of the imagination. ‘Soft Right’ unveils lyrical prowess and a knack for crafting inventive song structures. There is a strong college element to the whole affair but thankfully it is more Vampire Weekend than Wheatus. When married with confident meandering bass lines and a mature approach to space within music the overall result is a release that is more than worthy of a few spins.

Pet Lions’ ability to hammer out a catchy dynamic pop song suggests they may well graduate to bigger and better futures. If so it is more likely to be in the shape of ‘I Will Track You Down’ than the more immediate ‘Roman History’ which, despite sounding like a billboard contender, veers that little bit too close to Strokes territory.

the ‘Soft Right‘ EP is available by signing up to the band’s mailing list.

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Post by Kenny the pragmatist.

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TRACKS:

Pet Lions – Roman History

Pet Lions – I Will Track You Down

Frightened Rabbit came to my attention back in December with a blistering set opening for Modest Mouse at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. I should, perhaps, have had my eye on them much earlier. Nevertheless, they have eased into the public eye after the release of second album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ and an impressive performance on BBC2’s The Culture Show last year. March saw the jock’n’rollers release their third album, a milestone which more celebrated acts from The Strokes to Razorlight have struggled with in recent years.

Thankfully ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ serves up pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered; familiar melancholic undertones and plenty of fresh ideas. We’re talking handclaps, vocal intros, shakers, choral arrangements and much, much more. The album moves thematically, from ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’s self deprecating Romeo, to apprehensive adventurer. First single ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ is an ode to [metaphorically] throwing everything at one’s ambition and crucially overcoming the crippling fear of failure. Rousing stuff indeed.

Frightened Rabbit’s releases are always packed with build-ups. However, more often than not the ex-Glasgow School of Art students resist the temptation to break into the anticipated anthem, preferring instead to opt for the unexpected. It is, to a certain extent, what makes them such an exciting act and is a strategy they persist with on this latest offering. The most notable examples are opener ‘Things’, ‘The Loneliness and The Scream’ and ‘Not Miserable’.

What sets ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ apart from previous Frightened Rabbit albums is a sense of heightened focus. There is a more ruthless approach to track selection with only ten full length songs making the final release. Themes are introduced and reintroduced, lending a feeling of completeness perhaps lacking in earlier efforts.

Almost as much a folk group as they are a rock group, Frightened Rabbit are one of the most exciting Scottish exports since Irn-Bru.

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Post written by Kenny the malefic.

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TRACKS:

Frightened Rabbit – Fun Stuff