Energetic home counties trio COOPER BROWN seem to have a lot going for them judging by the sharply-realised contents of this; their 13-track debut album.
Led by vocalist/ guitarist Bill Brown - a man in the great gravel-voiced Jake Burns tradition when he really gets into it - these Surrey-based boys have already been racking up a fair bit of good press since this was released a few months back, although this writer finds the skate-punk references they've been attracting something of a misnomer, as to these diseased ears Cooper Brown have far more in common with the raging-wolves-in-lambs-clothing lineage of brain-flaying pop as previously peddled by Husker Du, China Drum and great turn of the '90s grunge-poppers like Mega City Four.
"Friends With The President" is a damn good break from the blocks, offering thirteen coruscatingly fine punk-pop tracks that are by turns visceral and tender. Cooper Brown can do slow, strung-out and sorrowful, like on "Wide Awake"; or cranked-up and desperate ("Faded"); or even let in sme malevolent MBV-style flange'n'feedback on hypnotic opener "Sinner", but they're rarely less than convincing on any of these occasions.
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Besides, they've obviously no problem with shouty, amped-up power pop, and "Friends With The President" is often at its' best when the boys are shamelessly dispensing hooks galore, like on songs such as the Lemonheads-y "Lucy Lemonade", the cautionary, starlet-goes-down tale of "16" or "Maybe You, Maybe Her" where they let the catchy rifferama do the talking.
Cooper Brown are a good unit. Bill's scuzzy, heartfelt guitar is nicely backed up by Gary and Rob, who prove to be an adept and propulsive rhythm section at all times, and while "Friends With The President" may not break much new ground sonically, its' tasty,undeniably fine'n'crunchy overload pop never entirely goes out of fashion. Thank God.
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