Cow Fish Fowl or Pig

Product description

NEW Combo BLUWAVS CD and FLAC FILE

Amazon.com

The Gourds go beyond the constraints of alt-country, forging into new territory–call it country dada. Tex-Mex with a dash of Cajun, a handful of honky-tonk, and some rockin’ and rollin’, the 17 engaging tunes on Cow Fish Fowl or Pig crawl into your brain, lay eggs, and hatch; once they’re in there, it’s hard to get them out. Opener “My Name Is Jorge,” uptempo with mandolin, acoustic guitar, accordion, harmonica, upright bass, and drums, sets the tone–it’s something like the Rolling Stones‘ “Sympathy for the Devil,” with a not-so-humble fruit-seller in the role of Satan, and witty yet bizarre references to selling apples to William S. Burroughs and lemons to Henry S. Ford. “Foggy Blossoms” gets naughty, with the completely reasonable zaniness of a French surrealist chase film, circa 1924. Make no mistake, though, this is Americana. “Blankets” drops the joking tone for soaring, bittersweet old-timey. That rootsiness sticks on the spirited “Right in the Head,” with its opening couplet “If you don’t pay me back forget it / I won’t track you down.” Cow Fish is madcap fun–track it down. –Jillian Steinberger