The Lazy Cowgirls
A Little Sex and Death

THE REVIEW

I have no doubt that assuming that everyone knows the Lazy Cowgirls is asking a bit much, but thinking that those who don't know them are missing out on one of the most genuine, the roughest and most masterfully captivating punk acts ever to be around to shatter eardrums and assault amplifiers is simply the truth. I swear.

Formed in Los Angeles 24 years ago, after a long journey from their native Indiana, with a long and honorable career and zero success, the Lazy Cowgirls disbanded in 2004, but left behind a not-so-scant trail of little masterpieces made of three chords that not reviewing even one here is a shame.

Where 50s, 60s & 70s rock 'n' roll, country, blues, R&B, punk, and folk mix into a blend unified by the screamed and lashing voice of their atypical bald and stocky frontman - Pat Todd, the true soul and constant creative force of the group over the years - there they are, the Lazy Cowgirls. Starting from a dirty punk produced by Chris D. of the Flesheaters, they slowly moved towards a more mature and full-bodied sound, more personal, which in the nineties produced real little gems made of hints of Hank Williams, riffs stolen from the Stones on "Exile on Main Street", the strength and malice of the Stooges and the MC5 with the explosive momentum of the Ramones.

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips called them "an American institution", and even though I think it's unlikely we will ever see them in the R'n'R HoF, fishing out one of their albums from the '90s, like the fantastic "A Little Sex and Death" from '97 (released by Crypt, after working for a long time with Sympathy - which, as they say, is "a name you can trust") that gives us tracks impossible to listen to without letting oneself frantically go, possessed by the madness of the purest rock and roll addiction, made of battered guitars, sixty garage, and early punk, seems simply obligatory. Placed in the middle of a triad - "Ragged Soul" is from 1995 and "Rank Outsider" beautifully ends the century in 1999 - that saw them reconfirm at their best after the masterful releases of the eighties (and before calming down a bit in the more melancholic and bluesy ones of the new century), "A Little Sex..." includes tracks of the highest punk craftsmanship like the stunning opening of "Here Comes Trouble", the title track itself, and the monstrous "Montana", without forgetting little wonders like "Bad News", "Sweet Thing", "Name Droppin' Son of a Bitch": listen to it all at full volume, feel the energy hit you like a punk tank and enjoy it like crazy! Oh yes, do it at home: driving might be dangerous!