Be Cool Cowboy

The cover art of Be Cool Cowboy's debut single, "Little Wiser," is a photo from a time past when film was still used in cameras and the Internet was only a thought in Al Gore's oddly shaped head. So it's no surprise that the song itself, a fuzzed out guitar carving out the air above the dusty basement beat of a Linn 9000 drum machine, sounds like it could be blasting out of a car stereo in the same parking lot in which the troupe of kids adorning the cover photo stand. Mike Parish, sole member of Be Cool Cowboy, sings over a power chord melody, laid back but with a certain urgency, perhaps reminiscing of childhood while poking fun at the sobering, sometimes depressing thoughts of adult reality.

The musical style is sunny and blown out. "Little Wiser" is a labor of love, carefully composed, thought out, and streamlined with each component of the mix occupying its own distorted place in the sonic space of the musical picture. Produced by Parish on a trusty Tascam 424 4-track cassette portastudio (the last of the great cassette portastudios) the sound is raw and genuine. With a healthy nod to the gods of 90's indie rock, Be Cool Cowboy's debut single has the clever characteristics of early Pavement mixed with the power pop prowess of Weezer along with an undeniable element of catchiness reminiscent of Elephant 6: sweet, never saccharine. Be Cool Cowboy is garage rock and lo-fi but not lo-fi for lo-fi's sake.