Six songs, fifteen minutes, too many damn hooks. Too catchy. I wanted to dislike this (mainly because the band name is so ridiculous), but the songs are actually pretty good and infectious. The trio that makes up Cactus’s says their influences range from the Pixies to Converge and, for once, I can actually hear their music taking that full range of sound and making it coherent on the EP. (Normally, when a band says who their influences are, they can come off sounding rather delusional.) There’s a little bit of screaming on the album but it’s not contrived; it comes across as mixing well with the energy of the songs. Mostly, the vocals are sung and the music is straightforward rock and roll. Other times, I may find this kind of thing as being ridiculous, but Cactus’s approach their sound with such an aggression that it’s hard to deny they’re sincere. I’m sure they’d be great live. Their lyrics make little to no sense and their name is stupid, but, other than that, I think we might have a winner.
–kurt (Beat Crazy)