MV is nine years old. In November 2014 I made a band from Northern Sweden the band of the day. Shit The Cow are still here, still making “scrapyard rock” records and “Pool Party” is the latest foray into their rather odd world.
It might have been unsatisfying to watch QOTSA recently, but Shit The Cow do it right. “Out Of The Deal” proves that. Fuzzy, slow-building, their feelgood hit of the summer, if you will. The thing with STC though (aside from it being the worst band name in history) is they sort of worm their way in, like you don’t know its good until you are humming the thing.
On “Lurger” for example, there’s an incessant energy about it that’s all their own. Sort of blues, but sort of the mid 90s, “I will set your world on Fire” sings Peter Söderberg on “World On Fire”. This is a weird world, mind you. It grooves then all of a sudden it cuts loose in a way most Cow songs don’t.
In fact this is more garage rock than most STC stuff, “Riches”, full of melody, almost trots off down some Black Keys road, at least it does until it reckons it wants to put “poison in the wishing well” – you might want to rethink, lads?
But ultimately, the reason I’ve been reviewing Shit The Cow records for so long is they don’t sound like anyone else. “Karman Line” lurks. That’s the best way to put it and the clever use of female harmony vocals is both original and pure class. Indeed, they wouldn’t be the band they are without Alexandra Lindqvist.
They might be like one of those “desert rock” bands that came along in the wake of Kyuss, but Shit The Cow are their own men, and woman. One thing though: I am not sure I’d fancy a pool party round theirs as who knows what you’d find floating in the deep end.
Rating 8/10
