Cosmic Psychos Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Oh What a Lovely Pie is the sound of a band at its creative end, trying, perhaps to keep a torch lit that would prefer to yield to the wind. Perhaps a more appropriate analogy in the Cosmic Psychos case would be trying to keep a bulldozer engine running when it's day is done. Not to say – even for a minute – that the band doesn't have its merits, or that this is a bad album; it's simply to indicate that Oh What a Lovely Pie is the creative nadir of this fine Australian garage punk rock band. The Cosmic Psychos had long relied on playing the simple hand – basic riffs, vocals snarled with an accent and a workingman's attitude, a thumping rhythm section, and some wah-driven guitar leads. Makes for a great rock show down at a small club, and a band like this could play to a rough and ready crowd for decades, but that doesn't always equal good albums. Earlier in their career, the Cosmic Psychos issued some great material – Down on the Farm, Blokes You Can Trust, Go the Hack, and even the one prior to this, Self-Totaled, but this one shows a once proud formula grown tired of its own reflection. ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though not terribly dissimilar from the brute simplicity of a number of other Australian outfits that have preceded them -- Radio Birdman, Angel City, and Rose Tattoo, the Cosmic Psychos nonetheless carved out a rip-roaring niche for themselves in the punk rock underground. Perhaps the band's most full-realized album, Self-Totaled doesn't deviate from the band's formula of hard driving rhythms, fuzzed out guitars, humorously sneering vocals, and true-to-the-bone working man's attitude. In fact, it builds on that formula: The melodies show better craftsmanship, the band is tighter, and the engineering is perfect. Like AC/DC, the Cosmic Psychos have always kept things simple and stuck lyrically to what they know, and on this album, they seem to know a bit about shooting the neighbor's cat, S&M, psychotic girlfriends, drinking, and fighting. ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide
'Palomino Pizza'
Release Date 8/9/1994
Tracks 6
Label Amphetamine Reptile
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Opening with the driving, Rose Tattoo-ish anthem "Rain Gauge," Palomino Pizza, the Cosmic Psychos' third album with Amphetamine Reptile Records, is an excellent taste of the album which would follow, Self-Totaled. Palomino Pizza is a humorous, up-tempo, straightforward rock EP that borrows as much from other, earlier Aussie bands as it does U.S. garage rock outfits like the MC5 and the Stooges. Simple, direct, to the point, and a little twisted: those are the qualities that make for a good Cosmic Psychos album. This is just such a recording. The album closer, "Most People I Know (Think I'm Crazy)" begins as a Small Faces-like acoustic pub rocker before the amps are thrown on midway through. It's an excellent summation of this band's attitude and delivery. Nothing too serious, but certainly nothing wimpy. ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide
'Blokes You Can Trust'
Release Date 8/5/1994
Tracks 10
Label Amphetamine Reptile
See Album Tracklist and Review
