The Cogburns
Bob
Self-Released
The seven-song debut album from the Cogburns should come with a parental warning sticker. Not only for the lyrical content, but to alert parents who have given up on finding a rock record like the ones they used to enjoy.
With elements of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, Bob shakes and pops on a blurry line between Having a Rave Up-era Yardbirds and Mars Needs Guitars-period Hoodoo Gurus. Then, there are the sunny harmonies of the Incredible Casuals thrown in just to balance it all out. The collection kicks off on a six-string bender with “Strange,” a tounge-in-cheek ode to “gettin’ some.” It’s not very PC, but it’s very rockin’. Other highlights include the sing-along stompers “Pussy Whipped” and the fuck-off-already-willya snarl of “Over You.”
Clocking in at just over 15 minutes, Bob is an EP-length barnburner, but the thing has seven songs — all different, all good and all catchy. Recording as a trio, Glenn, Vid and Marc Cogburn (yes, just like the Ramones) pulverize styles into a streamlined crunch that rides on a ringing Fender tone. A modern classic of seamless, mindless fun — and isn’t that what rock is all about?
The Cogburns play the Star Bar Sept. 22. See www.cogburns.com for more info.