COWS ARE BEST KEPT SECRET IN ROCK HISTORY
07/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Along with Black Flag, and The Butthole Surfers, COWS form what I like to call The Holy Trinity of Classic American Underground Punk Rock. I also consider them to be the most consistent band of the 90's, bar none. I'll even go so far as to call COWS the 2nd best band of the 90's, behind Smashing Pumpkins pre-96.
Alright, enough about my stupid acculates. Their last 5 albums, Cunning Stunts, Sexy Pee Story, Orphan's Tragedy, Whorn, & Sorry in Pig Minor completely blow my mind. I think it's cool that I really don't seem to prefer any one album over another. I dig that each album has a distinctly different sound.
They were around for about 4 years, and 4 albums before Cunning Stunts was released, and although that old stuff was good, it was nothing of the quality of Cunning Stunts. The production is not perfectly refined, but it is just right for the music, and every track is well above average.
I think they found their distinct sound most evidently on Sexy Pee Story. It's like a fusion between punk and hard rock, with snippets of jazz thrown in. They really remind me most of The Stooges; both Fun House & Raw Power. But it bears repeating that it is a wholely unique sound that COWS craft.
I respect the hell out of them for not duplicating that formula on their next release, Orphan's Tragedy. O.T. comes at you from a number of different directions, and I think you can tell the band was really trying to expand their horizons.
Whorn comes off raw, and aggresive. Again a nice change of pace from their previous endevor. You won't find anything that is subpar here. It Rocks!
Sorry In Pig Minor is a mindf... I think it might have been the brainchild of somebody's bad acid trip. Heavy as Hell. I love it.
I don't know why the band broke up, but they were indeed something special."
Noise rock masterpiece
curlywombat | nuu jork stade | 09/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"... this album is great, i loved it the first time i heard it, so did 2 of my friends who arent even COWS fans. id say this is a great place to start for the average guy who wants to get into the COWS but is a bit intimidated. this record will definitely disturb your thoughts, but hot ..., COWS are right up there with the jesus lizard in terms of... up rock. and the COWS do it even noisier than the lizard, if you can believe that. long live the COWS!"