A walk through Punishment Cookie: Like riding a bathtub through Space Mountain after a fight with your girlfriend. The openings of Eyes, the first track, are a water park in outer space, soaking with reverb the sound splashes all around you, and a primal 4 quarter note beat marches you to your thrill. Track 2 is Motorcycle, some people’s favorite track, a story of freedom and moving more garage sound. I’ll skip Ok Alright because I don’t think it goes anywhere. Home is the next song. And moves from garage rock basement rock. At the same time it becomes a strange homage to Elvis Presley, with tambourine and such arrangement of the parts, something Vegas as well as a definite Japanese rock feel to it. Oyaji, very produced, but loose, but very thought out.
The album has the pace of a live concert. The songs are short and powerful and come one after another. They keep your heart elevated if you are at all paying attention. I will skip the eponymous tune.
Don’t Knock it Mama, a bizarre song heavily influenced by John Lennon with some very expressive moments. Especially at the end there is a final chorus following an interval with the Wurlitzer that is surprising. This is the most through-composed of the songs on the record. But what is interesting about it is that it slows the album down from its previous beer and gyrating pace. If there were a candid-est moment of the record, it would be the vocals on this track.
The Dance personifies the entirety of this band’s groove, it is fast but its on the back beat, so it has a loose feel while being very energetic, and exciting. There is an almost monotonous attack to the songs, which is characterized by minimal drum fills, and a relatively simple approach to the drumming as well as the bass lines being one note over and over again. Orchestrationally, everything is painted, it might be loud, it might be a little loose of energy that feels somewhat spontaneous but all of the parts are all there for a purpose and for that purpose only. There really is not one thing that is superfluous to this record. And that’s why it has this Japanese mindset. Ikebana, the shape of %- 60/40 that gives it an offset beauty, like a man obsessing on his song arrangement craft over coffee, cheap beer and candy cigarettes. The Weezer-esque Imagining, almost closes out the disc by lifting the spirits after more intense songs about relationships. And finally, In My Brain, this is the song that should have been in the opening credits of Quantum of Solace, not that piece of shit thing with Pink and Jack Black, or whoever that was, it was horrible. Anyway, its got a commanding intensity, its mysterious and leading you somewhere charismatic, buy the record.
Final thoughts: A man making a point in an emotional conversation with his girlfriend through song, and getting the upper hand by having a loud rock band say it, at times charismatic at times cool. But you get his drift, loudly and with 4 big heavy rocking beats.
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Here is Hair Rockets site: http://hairrocket.com/ feel free to visit for more information, photos and music downloads. You are able to purchase Punishment Cookie there too!
Dallas Vietty is an accomplished musician in his own right! He plays keyboards and accordions! Please visit Dallas for some of his projects here at http://dallasvietty.com!