Cows - Walks Alone

Red socks, plaid pants, black shirt. Welcome to the crazy world of the Cows.

Cows - Walks Alone.mp3
It took me a good long while to warm up to the Cows, and at this point I'm still unsure of what to think of the band. Some days I love them, others I just shake my head in confusion. If I had to give a touchstone I'd say their similar in mindset to the Butthole Surfers, but with more "ooomph". Their AmRep catalogue is defined by sloppy playing, noisy near tuneless guitar, and unhinged vocal rants. These albums are exercises in extremes: frenzied noise rock on one track, tuneless droning on another, trombone solos on a third. Not to mention the occasional bugle flourish. The Cows can be maddening to even their most ardent fan.

That said each album has a handful of classics that never fail to hook me. "Walk Alone" is one such track. From 1992's Cunning Stunts, this is probably the closest thing to a "rock" song the band recorded, a straight up scorcher about some nut in the park. Unfortunately this song is not representative of the band's sound, but I can't find one track that truly is. If I had the room I'd include a bunch of others. Someday, perhaps