So I’ll be honest, when my new stack of CDs for review showed up, I picked this one first since it had the oddest album cover of the bunch. I mean look at it, what’s really going on there? And shouldn’t the guy on the right think about doing a little shaving or put on a shirt? It lends itself to a lot of questions, but when you give Eskimo Kisses a listen it makes more sense, these guys are a bit different.
On Eskimo Kisses, Cow Pals is a duo comprised of Jason Trzaska and Peter Hill, but they are currently working on getting rid of the drum machine and expanding. Trzaska and Hill met while playing for other bands in the Philadelphia area and finally got together in April of last year. They put together 30 songs after a night of beers and jamming.
Personally, I enjoy what they came up with for the most part. It reminds me of Ween mostly, but it also reminds me of Hayden. They do have some of the quirky humor of Flight of the Conchords at times too, but the tone of the songs varies. You can tell that these guys had a bunch of different ideas bouncing around and essentially went with the best of the bunch. The songs seem fairly raw based on how this all came together presumably, but it works for a self-released debut I think.
That being said, like Ween, Cow Pals is certainly not for everybody. I think some of the indie crowd will certainly find something to like here, but the average person should really try it before they buy it. The vocals aren’t very good and the songs can be a bit tasteless at times. I mean I know “Beat Her to Show Her You Love Her” isn’t serious, but it’ll still turn plenty of listeners away. Still, I like what I hear here, and am excited to see what comes next.
HOT TRACKS: “Hey Mr. Johnson!”, “1 and 1”, “Lady On The Tramp”
Kevin Kozel-MuzikReviews.com Staff
March 11, 2010
