Sunday, July 29, 2012

Coyotes in the Room-Undress LP (2012)

Here's a friendly bit of advice for interwebs goers: Don't start your album with a cover. Especially if it's a song by someone as venerable as 'ole Dolly Parton.

That said, Kentucky's Coyotes in the Room do a  pretty funny pisstake on Dolly's disco jam "Baby I'm Burnin'". The rest of the album is a mishmash of styles, from the quiet bedroom downer "Animal Soup" to the ballsy swagger of "Deer Stand." Confusingly, these different styles are often counterposed right next to each other, making it hard to settle on one mood.

For my money, the best tracks here are "Precious Jolly Rascal" and "F-250." "Precious Jolly Rascal" is all about the slow-motion bass and psych-tinged guitar; the rhythm section engulfs the words so it sounds like dude's singing at the bottom of a well. Very effective. "F-250" is a convincing stab at a Neil Young-style folk ballad with a perfect balance between the murmured vocals and guitar.

Overall, my main problem with "Undress" is that it feels more like a collection of songs than a coherent album; the jumble of styles and moods breaks up any patterns that develop within a given song. But this is only the second outing by the Coyotes, and it's a good collection of songs, anyways.

Download Undress here, and also check out "Love Stuff/Cheap Smokes," which came out in June. The Coyotes also have a cassette out on Tent Revivalist Tapes.

No comments:

Post a Comment