The press release that accompanies the Swedish quartet’s new album would have you believe that Cowboy Prostitutes are a tough band to pin down and that they’re “what the critics might wonna call a real pain in the ass: they’re pretty difficult to put in a category.”
When the truth is that there is actually a fair few bands that sound like these guys- they’re a mix of sleazy Glam Metal, Hard Rock, and Punk… so nothing like Wednesday 13, Trashlight Vision, Nasty Idols, or The Green River Project then… just off the top of my head.
Cowboy Prostitutes do play up different elements in their take on the mix that the aforementioned bands adhere to - they don’t have the B-Movie Aesthetic of Wednesday 13, or the out and out Punk feel of Trashlight vision but they effectively use the similar gravely vocals, hard rock hooks, and glam metal guitars in the same way. So no, they’re not difficult to categorize Mr PR man.
The opening track ‘Outrageous’, is quite a tame mix of Motley Crue meets pop punk that is as disposable as pre-packaged teen angst. ‘Nawt That Pretty’ fairs a little better, but is a familiar sleazy Crue-a-like that only falls apart on the desperate ‘please sing-a-long’ chorus. ‘If The Sky’ is an attempt at a semi-ballad in the style of Wednesday 13 sans the schlock horror lyrics, but it is also the first one that actually stands out as a catchy song. ‘Through The Streets’ teases a Billy Idol style intro before going into a 70’s classic rock riff married to punky rhyming couplet lyrics - pretty standard fare, but not without its moments. ‘Girls Like You’ is almost a ‘Fat Bottom Girls’ era queen style intro before it returns to that pop punk dressed as metal riff and pseudo-sing-a-long chorus. ‘Make Things Right’ is the sixth track, and the first that doesn’t sound like it is desperately trying to imitate another band - powered by a solid hard rock riff, it is the only track so far that actually shows off the talent behind the band. ‘Waitin’ Around’ starts like a Trashlight Vision cast-off, but holds it’s own for the most part without too much drama though. ‘Save Our Cities’ is another good hard rock song that shows off what the band can do when they haven’t listened to someone else’s back catalogue for inspiration before hand. ‘What Shall I Do?’ opens in that semi ballad style once again and re-treads a lot of old ground from throughout the album, but in its defence it doesn’t fall as flat as some previous tracks. ‘Up Yours’ does however fall very flat - it’s not the middle finger punk metal you’d expect but the same re-hashed pop punk as at the beginning of the album. ‘Finale’ is a fantastic track, good riff, decent chorus… it’s just a shame I had to sit through the rest of the album before this one.
This album promises so much more than it actually delivers… it’s like buying a brand new HD plasma screen and getting the same chunky old colour TV you’ve always had. There are some genuinely good moments on the album - ‘Make Things Right’, ‘Save Our Cities’ and ‘Finale’ are all damn fine songs, but it is still way too little from a band that potentially could be writing songs of that ilk all the time.
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