SHIT THE COW – volume/cow EP

2012
By Shane Pinnegar
7/10

If you can bring yourself to look past SHIT THE COW’s unfortunate name, you may just discover something pretty original and very interesting. Daniel Kjellberg and Peter Söderberg – both are credited with guitars and vocals – hail from Sweden’s icy Stockholm and call themselves “Scrapyard rockers”, crediting their inspirational keystones as “Kiss’ disco era, Queens Of The Stone Age first album and early PJ Harvey. But first and foremost they are the rusty old truck from Steven Spielberg’s 1971 DUEL.”

Daniel and Peter may well have spent too many nights without the sun going down drinking Aquavite, but if so then it’s a damn fine recipe for creativity on this debut EP.

Opener Head Over Wheels is a chrome and leathers driving song – grooving with a QOTSA meets latter day Depeche Mode darkness, the lyrics driving the “he’s outta control” refrain down a desolate highway while the guitars churn.

Darkness Never Ending brings to mind the heroin grind of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, whilst Shit The Cow Is On Fire is more angular, reminding the listener more of countrymen (and lady) Whale, than more familiar scuzz-rockers Hellacopters or Backyard Babies.

Closer Holy Cow again goes off-piste, sounding like the QOTSA rhythm section jamming with Spandau Ballet on junk at a Metallica after party.

Wild, hypnotic and cinematic in its scope, “volume/cow” is a definite attention getter, and Kjellberg and Söderberg are definitely worth keeping an ear out for – I’d suggest changing the band name now more than ever, though…

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shitthecow/325694852733

 

Category: CD Reviews