NEW WET KOJAK
This Is the Glamorous (The Beggers Group)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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With their "main" band, Girls vs. Boys, seemingly in dormancy, Scott McCloud and Johnny Temple's "side project" seem to have taken on some of the grittier aspects of the former band and turned the horn-heavy, jazz-influenced New Wet Kojak into a gritty amalgamation of the two groups, with sweeping guitar leads and fuzzbox backdrops against gorgeous horns and dark, moody, world-weary vocals. The new album is a tribute to apathy and glamorous New York nightclub bathrooms, high heels and car commercials - all things McCloud obviously despises, or at least it seems so from the barely-concealed snarl in his voice. It's a real tribute to how two bands with such significantly different approaches to music can come together to become something better than either one was before, and I'm real curious to see where things take these guys next.

© 2003 - Holly Day