Three Finger Cowboy
Kissed
Daemon Records, PO Box 1207, Decatur GA 30031
Release Date: 1998
If Three Finger Cowboy existed only on paper, the sentences needed to describe them would make me recoil in horror. There are more doo-doo's, la-la's and group-shout vocals than a Go-Go's reunion tour. The music is shallow as a baby pool, and I think I even heard, dear god, a flanger pedal. The lyrics sure don't help the case, either. Not since Bryan Adams have I heard a nugget like the chorus to "Lemon & Lime," which reads, and I quote:
"Everywhere you go, kids wanna rock and roll."
But, damn if I don't really like these jokers despite myself. The songs are so insiduously catchy that they're tough to resist. And Katharine McElroy's charming vocals save Three Finger Cowboy whenever they come close to dropping under the unbearable lightness. She sounds like a cross between Juliana Hatfield, Kim Deal and Moe Tucker -- sugary-sweet, but extra heavy on the character. The band's power chords and canned beats get pretty dull, but at least they stay out of McElroy's way.
-- Jonathan Carson
carson@outersound.com
