Blake Solomon
05/19/09, 10:28 PM
Coffinberry – Coffinberry
Record Label: Collectible Escalators / Command Center Records
Release Date: June, 2009
We move around this world and it’s hard to stop. Free* albums come and go and there’s a disregard for all the joy that used to come with hearing a new album. Records are still great, sure, but there’s hardly the same joyousness when you know another free* album is waiting nearby. So instead, we make a fuss for a day and then it’s over. A new record is on the horizon, although we don’t even know the band’s name yet. The level of greatness out there is still inspiring; it’s us that has the problem. A proliferation of free* music has taken our ability to be stopped, stunned and awed. Sometimes I wish everyone had to review every record they love. It really does force you to stop and smell the musical roses. Don’t think of it as a job as much as it is a privilege.
Days with Coffinberry’s self-titled full length were more than just some clichéd labor of love. It was an honor and a privilege. I’ve been given the happy task of breaking down Tony Cross’ twangy vocals. I can now effectively bask in the southern tones of Nick Cross’ guitar. Don’t you see? I got a $5 lap dance and the stripper asked me back to her place afterwards! (OK fine, especially for me, that’s a difficult metaphor to picture.) But the point is, and forgive me for beating it to death, we should still appreciate the music Napster so willingly donated to us. Bands like Coffinberry don’t make a damn dime, and something tells me they don’t give a damn, either. So the least you can do is give Coffinberry the hours, days or years it deserves.
But you won’t and I don’t expect you to. My cynicism is well-grounded, though, because there just aren’t enough fans to sustain the languid fuzz of a song like “Average.” Hooks sung with the boredom of a Midwestern Loser sound difficult by design. Tony Cross’ static-laden vocals are constantly overpowered by dollar store-amplified riffs (“Celebrate The Holy Innocents”) or general who-gives-a-f**k distortions. And on the rare instance that Cross is understandable, like on the downtrodden psych-folk of “The Vapors,” it’s an oddball treat: “So I’m gonna be a working stiff, momma / I’m gonna get a raise / And fix up my flat college / With the money I saved / When I’m done, we’ll take / There’ll be a laugh on my face.” Coffinberry are simply describing the mundane problems of real life, albeit the methods are usually inverted or completely transfigured.
Simple riffs on old guitars can still create previously unheard sounds. This is the true M.O. of Coffinberry. Turn the stereo up and don’t be alarmed if the eeriness of a creaking floorboard greets you. Smell your headphones after “Smashed On Honey” happily ends the record and tell me you don’t get a whiff of cigarette smoke and whisky. The parts are normal, yet somehow the resultant whole is wonderfully refreshing, entrancing and real.
Recommended If You Like: Fake Problems, Bob Dylan, Helsinki hand grenades, Deer Tick, CeilingFan CockRoaches
www.myspace.com/coffinberry
Record Label: Collectible Escalators / Command Center Records
Release Date: June, 2009
We move around this world and it’s hard to stop. Free* albums come and go and there’s a disregard for all the joy that used to come with hearing a new album. Records are still great, sure, but there’s hardly the same joyousness when you know another free* album is waiting nearby. So instead, we make a fuss for a day and then it’s over. A new record is on the horizon, although we don’t even know the band’s name yet. The level of greatness out there is still inspiring; it’s us that has the problem. A proliferation of free* music has taken our ability to be stopped, stunned and awed. Sometimes I wish everyone had to review every record they love. It really does force you to stop and smell the musical roses. Don’t think of it as a job as much as it is a privilege.
Days with Coffinberry’s self-titled full length were more than just some clichéd labor of love. It was an honor and a privilege. I’ve been given the happy task of breaking down Tony Cross’ twangy vocals. I can now effectively bask in the southern tones of Nick Cross’ guitar. Don’t you see? I got a $5 lap dance and the stripper asked me back to her place afterwards! (OK fine, especially for me, that’s a difficult metaphor to picture.) But the point is, and forgive me for beating it to death, we should still appreciate the music Napster so willingly donated to us. Bands like Coffinberry don’t make a damn dime, and something tells me they don’t give a damn, either. So the least you can do is give Coffinberry the hours, days or years it deserves.
But you won’t and I don’t expect you to. My cynicism is well-grounded, though, because there just aren’t enough fans to sustain the languid fuzz of a song like “Average.” Hooks sung with the boredom of a Midwestern Loser sound difficult by design. Tony Cross’ static-laden vocals are constantly overpowered by dollar store-amplified riffs (“Celebrate The Holy Innocents”) or general who-gives-a-f**k distortions. And on the rare instance that Cross is understandable, like on the downtrodden psych-folk of “The Vapors,” it’s an oddball treat: “So I’m gonna be a working stiff, momma / I’m gonna get a raise / And fix up my flat college / With the money I saved / When I’m done, we’ll take / There’ll be a laugh on my face.” Coffinberry are simply describing the mundane problems of real life, albeit the methods are usually inverted or completely transfigured.
Simple riffs on old guitars can still create previously unheard sounds. This is the true M.O. of Coffinberry. Turn the stereo up and don’t be alarmed if the eeriness of a creaking floorboard greets you. Smell your headphones after “Smashed On Honey” happily ends the record and tell me you don’t get a whiff of cigarette smoke and whisky. The parts are normal, yet somehow the resultant whole is wonderfully refreshing, entrancing and real.
Recommended If You Like: Fake Problems, Bob Dylan, Helsinki hand grenades, Deer Tick, CeilingFan CockRoaches
www.myspace.com/coffinberry