The sun is out, temporarily at least. There is a feeling of goodwill in the air, and the weekend is right around the corner. What you need is a soundtrack for it all. Luck is at hand as the Cowpunk EP by Brighton’s Ciderdogs is exactly what you need! The quartet features Snooks on banjo and vocals, Curtis on guitars and vocals, Dave on bass and Kane on drums. It’s a formidable line-up. Dave and Kane’s playing is the backbone of the band. Their solid rhythm section allows Curtis to pepper the songs with catchy riffs while Snooks delivers hypnotic banjo. Over this Snooks and Curtis take it in turns to sing. Curtis sings about standing your ground when confronted with wrong ‘uns. Whereas Snooks bellows about the seedier side of life. Combined, it’s one hell of a one-two punch.
‘Look ‘em in the Eye’ is an anthem for the dispossessed. Some of the cultural references might have dated a bit ‘Je Suis Charlie’ but the sentiment is there. When confronted by someone being an arsehole, call them out. Hold them accountable and if enough people do it, against the right people/causes, things might start to get better. Musically it has as much of a bite to it. It’s also very, very, very catchy. One listen and it’s stuck in your head for days. ‘Prairie Chain’ is a cover of a cover, with some new lyrics. The original is by The Primevals on their 1986 album Sound Hole. Then it was covered by cowpunk legends Pronghorn. Ciderdogs must have thought if it was good enough for Pronghorn it is good enough for them to do a little bit of plagiarising. I’m being facetious here. Ciderdogs have taken a cover of a garage rock stomper and made it their own. Weirdly their version is faster, and more fractious, than the original. And that’s saying something. What their version has that the original doesn’t is some swagger to it. Lyrically it’s abstract. What is Snooks really singing about? Does it matter? Probably not. All that matters is that it’s a banger in the middle of an EP of bangers.
The Cowpunk EP is an incendiary 15 minutes of cowpunk. If this is your first exposure, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Neck that pint and join us in the pit. If you are an old head, neck that pint and join us in the pit. This is the beauty of the EP. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been around the block or are stumbling across this for the first time: everyone is welcome. And is that what you want from your music? Something infectious that makes you want to dance and have a laugh with your mates too? I certainly do and I’ll see you down the front next time the band are in town.
