COWBOY MOUTH "Voodoo Shoppe" Eleven Thirty
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COWBOY MOUTH"Voodoo Shoppe"Eleven Thirty
NO MATTER what its ultimate commercial fate, "Voodoo Shoppe" will provide Cowboy Mouth with a combination concert staple/meal ticket for as long as the veteran New Orleans rockers are banging around the club circuit. The band has "Joe Strummer," the album's opening salvo and initial single, to thank for that. With punkish glee and irrefutable logic, the chorus sums up one of the great truths about budding relationships -- namely, that you gotta draw the line somewhere: "She had to go 'cause she didn't know who/Joe Strummer was."
Turns out "Joe Strummer" is a hard act to follow. For a band that has seen more than its share of lineup changes, career swings and Hurricane Katrina-inflicted trauma, Cowboy Mouth sounds surprisingly polished and radio groomed here, thanks in part to producers Russ T. Cobb (Avril Lavigne) and Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish). Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing, especially when you're dealing with a band known for its roadhouse fervor. "Misty Falls," "Supersonic" and "Glad to Be Alive" sound so familiar that they telegraph their punches early on -- or, worse, lack punches altogether. Far more enjoyable are "Winds Me Up," with its stiff-wrist drum beats and early Brit rock harmonies, and "I Told Ya," a Southern funk rant that helps clear the air. Also ranking among the album highlights is a pair of sturdy and heartfelt post-Katrina anthems, "Home" and "The Avenue."
-- Mike Joyce
Appearing Saturday at the 9:30 club.
