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Atlanta's The Cogburns specialize in an uncomplicated form
of rock, and with their heavy riffs, straight 4/4 beats, and
their dumb-ass girl/world rhymes, they come across like some
sort of fun version of The Stooges. But whilst there's nothing
on Pay Up Sucker to compete with the excellent
two chord glam stomp that was Over You (a track that
still gets a regular airing in the EvilSponge Indoor Mine)
from their Bob EP, once again there's plenty
to be enjoyed on a Cogburns release, as long as you don't take
things too seriously that is.
Pay Up Sucker doesn't get to the best of starts
though as opening track Bending Knees possibly veers
a little too close to some hard rock world for my liking. It
does, however, just manage to stay just on the right side of
the line thanks to that thumping, non-pondering beat.
Things soon get better though with The Damned-like riffing
of If You Want To Be My Girl, the early Beatles-ish Little
Castaway, and My My Lola (which opens with a You
Really Got Me type riff, and sounds not unlike New York's
The Bosch on last year's no-nonsense Buy
One Get One album).
The pick of the lot though is Spooky Song, which, despite
its terrible title, is a great track with a Nuggets like
feel and a snaky sounding guitar riff that brings to mind Tom
Verlaine and the Bunnymen's Will
Sergeant. Ultimately, thought, it is reminiscent of the
Teardrop Explodes' 1981 classic Wilder album track Like
Leila Khaled Says. Pay Up Sucker doesn't peter
out here though. Nagging is another with something of
a Nuggets feel and features a, er, nagging chorus,
whilst Rollers Rip, which sounds like Neat Neat Neat played
by some 60's garage band (with a great beat to boot), runs Spooky
Song close for the best track on the album.
You Want It, You Got It follows and is another track
that sounds influenced by early The Damned, whilst She Don't
Mind is a catchy little number that has moments where it
reminds me of The Monkees. Pay Up Sucker ends
on a high with You Don't Know What I Know, which has
one of the best riffs on show here, together with a stomping
beat and a chorus memorable enough to have my eight year old
singing along before we were halfway through it.
So another success for The Cogburns then. And although Pay Up Sucker isn't going to change your life anymore than their Bob EP, it sure is a lot of fun.
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