COOTERFINGER
Three Chords and a Grudge (Illbilly)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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The title of this 5-song EP is misleading. Yeah, Cooterfinger definitely hits you with ferocious garage rock, distorted not from guitar pedals but at the main recording console so the entire recording rattles like it's melting, but there are riffs here that make the number of chords a non-issue. The energy level is high (as it would be even if Perry freakin' Como recorded with the needles that far in the red), and if your nerves can take the shakedown (and the constant nagging feeling your speakers may have blown), the payoff is great fun and an elevated mood. "Rotten Candy" alone is worth the price of admission, with its strutting riff and bad-boy lyrics. I figure the distortion is, to borrow a term Paul McCartney uses when describing the screaming girls at the Beatles live shows, hiding a multitude of sins, but it's garage, so you expect sins and maybe even crave 'em. Recommended for those who like it loud and snarly.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson