COUSINS play the Silver Dollar on April 28. See listing. Rating: NNN
It’s tempting to compare a stripped-down garage rock band like Cousins to guitar/drums outfits like the White Stripes, Pack A.D. or (early) Black Keys. But though the Haligonians, now a trio, share those bands’ propensity for blues progressions and lo-fi, live-sounding rock clamour, they’re as skilled at slow and moody as they are at fast and dirty. The guitars are crunchy and the drums rollicking, yes, but Aaron Mangle’s yelping falsetto is dreamy rather than frenzied, and the melodies lean toward jangle pop.
There’s a lot of energy in the nine songs on Cousins’s sophomore album, though you never get the sense that the band members are simply letting themselves run wild. Tightly wound stop-start arrangements abound, as do moments of relative calm, making the highs hit with greater impact. No matter how effortless it all might sound, The Palm At The End Of The Mind is a deceptively controlled album.
Top track: Defense
