Thursday, July 6, 2017

Shotwell Coho 7" ep (Broken, 1995)

Despite having two Berkeley, CA punk luminaries in their lineup (Aaron Cometbus and Paul Curran) Shotwell Coho's writing and fronting responsibilities fell to the relatively less renown Jimmy Broustis, who himself hand a stint Strawman.  Besides being a prolific zine scribe in the '80s and '90s, Cometbus' drumming lineage is spread across myriad East Bay sub-rosa rockers including Crimpshrine, Sweet Baby, Pinhead Gunpowder, and stretching as far back to the early Reagan era, S.A.G.  Prior to this endeavor Curran formally made inroads with Crimpshrine as well, not to mention Monsula and Go Sailor.  In short, Shotwell Coho (later truncated to just Shotwell in light of personnel alterations) was your proverbial super-group, albeit with a less than proverbial profile.  Broustis has that classic Easy Bay punk rasp, but nothing overbearing, and his trio's economical, no-effects penchant aesthetically fits the mold of many of these aforementioned combos like a glove. Easily the most immediate and effective article in the Shotwell (Coho) canon, this self-titled ep entails a faithful reading of Bob Marley and the Wailer's "Redemption Song," and a noble tribute to Johnny Thunders, "J.T.R.I.P."  The band followed this release up with their first full length as Shotwell, dubbed Celery, Beef and Iron.

01. APHM
02. Redemption Song
03. Christobol Colon
04. J.T.R.I.P.
05. Through You

Hear

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