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I hate reviewing bands that nobody, and I mean nobody
has heard of. It’s tough because it means
I have to form my own opinion. It robs me of my
greatest writing aid: copying and pasting from a
more capable writer’s work. Considering Stranger
Lazy has less Myspace “friends”
linked to their page than me (and I’m not
very popular), I get the feeling that no one outside
of Indianapolis knows of the band. While researching
the Internet for articles to plagiarize, I could
only find one interview with one band member. Unfortunately,
the article was about drummer Kevin Fitzpatrick’s
art career, and his intentions to leave the band.
In the end, I had to suck it up, actually listen
to the album and try to formulate an opinion on
my own.
After couple of songs from The Cox
Sintrific went by, an opinion sprung
unbidden to my mind; “This is good.”
Admittedly, when the lo-fi recording and guitar
reverb on the first song, “And I Punched
It” began, I waited for the up-tempo drumming
and screaming to begin, thinking: “Oh fuck,
another fucking shitty power pop band. Fuck.”
But it didn’t happen. The song maintained
a measured, almost jaunty pace throughout. It
took the beginning of the next track, “Is
it Paul Water?” before relief set in. The
two songs flowed into one another, picking up
pace and cleaning the reverb while still maintaining
a lo-fi sound.
Drowning in a sea of mediocrity, Stranger Lazy
pulled me to safety one track at a time.
Listen to The Cox Sintrific and you
can spot some of their influences like Built to
Spill and Pavement, while managing to forge their
own path. Singer Rob Freeman’s
vocals sound a bit like Ben Gibbard in both the
style and pacing of the lyrics, but a bit more
raw.
Surprisingly, there isn’t a bad tune on
the whole album. Some are less appealing than
others, but stand-outs include “We are Vikings
Tonight,” with its piano overlaid on chiming
guitars, as well as the choruses and upbeat plucking
of an acoustic guitar on “Bang on Jesus.”
While The Cox Sintrific is pretty dang
good, perhaps the most exciting thing about this
band is the potential for greater things in the
future.
www.myspace.com/strangerlazy
-Ian Nelson, February 3, 2006
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