Through a debut cluttered with lyrical detail, and an array of instrumentation of violins, melodicas and harmoniums at their most simplistic, The Cool Greenhouse are now finding their own path in the post-punk genre - and it’s one that promises to be fantastical.
In an epic battle of pop versus indie, with their weapon, the power of the spoken word, The Cool Greenhouse could certainly be part of the driving force extending the frontiers of modern rock.
Whilst far from a reinvention of the wheel, the band occupy a niche in the ever-saturated allegorical post-punk market that is entirely their own.
Brilliantly evocative, each track could probably be made into its own black comedy sitcom; consequently, the sparse backing seems almost an afterthought, but as a framework for the excellent pictures being painted within, it mostly works.
This is by far the most delicious taste of fresh straight up post-punk I've heard in a long time. It rarely veers in new directions, opting instead for repetition so persistent it could drive you mad; The Cool Greenhouse taking a simple guitar riff and forcing it on the listener for five minutes straight as sonic whirling, organs, and percussion fill the space in between.
The lyrics are also absolutely fascinating. Tom Greenhouse, the man providing the spoken-word vocalization can't seem to ... read more
Is it cool to play The Fall?
On this evidence, yes, it's quite cool - although the vocals really sound like a private school educated chap trying his utmost best to channel Mark E. Smith and Hugh Cornwell from The Stranglers.
If that doesn't paint a picture for you then:
- imagine The Wombats if they were quite good.
NR
The Cool Greenhouse provide a most repetitious album to match the mundanity of life
There's a clear line of influence that can be drawn from Patti Smith almost directly to The Cool Greenhouse, that can be found in the witty verbosity and the simple chord structures, in fact most of the songs are just one chord repeated for up to 5 1/2 minutes.
"One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz." - Lou Reed
This album is not for everyone, the guitars' ... read more
Decent album with solid politics. The lyrics are constantly engaging but unfortunately not enough to salvage some of the slower songs on the project such as "Gum" and "4Chan" from getting a bit stale. Also, "Prospects" is literally the same riff from Speak Now In The Fire lmao
This album has some great tracks on it but most of it is just a bit too repetitive. It's good but some tracks just sound like midi tracks converted into live tracks or something that would sountrack pollo asado by ween.
1 | The Sticks 5:45 | |
2 | Cardboard Man 5:22 | |
3 | Gum 3:41 | |
4 | Life Advice 3:59 | |
5 | Dirty Glasses 5:33 | |
6 | Smile, Love! 3:32 | |
7 | Trojan Horse 5:24 | |
8 | 4Chan 3:53 | |
9 | Prospects 2:34 | |
10 | Outlines 4:28 | |
11 | The Subletters Pt. 2 3:52 feat. The Shifters |
#24 | / | Louder Than War |
#83 | / | Piccadilly Records |