Record review

Analogue Bubblebath

15 Jun 2005

Randal/Everybody wants to be American

Just 2 tracks on this well-produced and packaged CD which the band were kind enough to send to me. The press release describes Stoat as a "3-piece (guitar, bass, drums) rock'n'roll band" who "play guitar-based music with a bit of edginess, a bit of sweetness, a bit of bite, a lot of bizarre". So what do they sound like? Well, "Randall" is the first track; a humourous tale of a wayward individual who has "killed 1000 asses with the jawbone of a man". The guitar-playing is exemplary with a polished bassline while the vocals are nicely buried in the mix. It's also got some Black Francis-like howls. "Everybody wants to be American" is more immediate; a fiery punkish stomp with some clever start-stop playing and a rousing "overdog" refrain. An excellent breath of fresh air.

[Stoat review-of-review: excellent. An example for all you other reviewers out there. 10 out of 10]