In 2009, a trend has emerged of bands that have an extreme amount of reputation to live up to. We've seen it with smaller bands such as Hard Girls which features members of Shinobu and Pteradon and all three members are also in Jesse Michaels' newest group Classics of Love. On a larger scale, we've also seen Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones join forces as Them Crooked Vultures. What I'm getting at here is that this stuff entices me. Another band with a tremendous amount of high expectations is Brooklyn's Kudrow (y'know, Smelly Cat?) Kudrow is a 90's Alternative Rock inspired outfit comprised of Jeff Rosenstock (Bomb The Music Industry), Mike Campbell (Latterman, The Brass, and Laura Stevenson and The Cans), and Dave Garwacke (Halo Fauna, Thousandaires, Laura Stevenson, Golden Age of Radio, The State Lottery, and pretty much every band ever). While I've yet to purchase the vinyl, I plan on such. Quote Unquote Records and Ifyoumakeit.com have both put "Lando" up for a suggested donation, while Ernest Jenning Records will handle the vinyl release. This is quite a good record, I have proof.
Right as the EP's opener, "Commutilation," comes through the speakers, so does a thick layer of fuzz, and a welcome one at that. In fact, their sound is something that has been missing for a long, long time. Rosenstock and Campbell bring a thick, distorted wall of sound, backed wonderfully by Garwacke's rhythmic expertise. Think The Replacements but with bigger guitar and bass sounds....actually a HUGE bass sound. There's times where Jeff doesn't even need to play his guitar because Campbell takes so much space on his own with an absolutely voluminous bass sound.
In addition to the grit, Kudrow also brings the POP. These are some catchy tunes, reminiscent to The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., and Superchunk. The catchiest of them all has to be "Favreau," which starts with fuzzy bassline in the verse and explodes into a huge chorus with one of the best guitar licks I've ever heard Jeff Rosenstock play. "Blink-182 Reunion" starts with a really cool riff that grabs me every time. I also love how most of the songs on "Lando" follow what I like to call the "Pixies Formula," where the verses are quiet and the choruses explode.
The 4 song EP seems really short until the record's closer "Brooklyn Pool," which clocks in at just under 6 minutes and mixes the beautiful with the brash, and the silent with the extravagant.
Now, I'll admit I was expecting a lot from this band, considering the fact I love all their other groups, and I feel they delivered. This is a great little EP. That's the thing, it's too short and I want more. One can only imagine what a full-length from the group would be like.
If you have a record player, I recommend you get this 7". If you would rather download it, I suggest you donate.
"Lando" gets a 4.5 out of 5.
Download "Lando" from these sites:
Ifyoumakeit.com
Quoteunquoterecords.com
Buy the 7" here:
Ernestjenning.com
Visit Kudrow's Myspace here:
Myspace.com/yokudrow
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