I was intrigued by this band when I read their one-sheet and saw that these guys are total Steve Albini nuts. Now, seeing as anything that Albini has played on is pure gold to me, I had to give this a listen. Cog gets the sparse sound of Shellac down pat, with trebly guitars, heavy bass, and syncopated drum lines. The problem with the whole affair is that even though the band has the indie-noise rock sound and style of Shellac, they seem to be missing the personality that shines through on Shellac albums. It’s hard to call any of this bad, but it is pretty indistinct in the long run, as it is very competent musically, but without the eccentricities that define the bulk of Shellac’s amazing body of work. Did I mention this band is from Croatia? They’re from Croatia.
–Adrian (Moonlee)