Not content with knocking out one of the stylishly best independent albums of 2004, CARDBOARD COWBOY tarnish their reputation for Accountancy Restrained Fun by giving away four cracking little tunes from their indolent lifestyle of constant writing recording and performing new songs as if there was no yesterday.
The formula is simple. Total command of pop tunefulness, a laid back approach to trendology, a glistening website and enough intoxicants to promote joy unbounded.
Don’t get me wrong. CARDBOARD COWBOY don't make fun an excuse for crap tunes or primitive playing. These tracks are live sounding and loose, but the few remaining musicians on the planet need not wince at poor mixing, tempo slippage, pitch approximation or "it's all my fingers can manage-ness".
Little things matter – like the cunning counterpoint of the bass notes and the perky keyboards that turn "You Don’t Need to Cry" into a Beatlesy treat. Mandolin on "I'm not playing" is done properly. The extended tune of "When I Set Sail" is a lot more than the standard yelping over standard chord progressions and its minimal instrumental section seems to poke cheeky fun at post rock pretensions with its one note per bar xylophone noises.
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"Can’t Be Alone" has a 60s hip finger snapping and Lennon voice feel with a viola (?). It’s damn good. But in the time you've taken to read all this you could have gone and downloaded the damn things anyway, so I'm not sure why I'm blathering on. Go Get 'em Floyd, as the adverts used to say - www.cardboardcowboy.com
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