REVIEW: COP WARMTH - CENTAUR COP TOP EP

Cop Warmth is one of those bands that has a distinct live and on-record experience. Their live shows are ridiculously sloppy affairs, where descriptions that would encompass ‘masterful and crystal clear live sound’ would occur just as infrequently as ‘wore matching uniforms’ or ‘kept pants on for entirety of performance.’ So fuzzingly energetic are their shows, however, that it's hard not to get carried away in their cranky and catchy tide of hidden-in-the-backpack Natural Light fueled hardcore. But it’s totally doublemint if one actually knows the songs, which is why we’re so chelada on both their first CDr giveaway, and the new Centaur Cop Top ep.

Picking the nose of the same pleasure synapse as the early recordings of another whips set of local prunks from beyond the beltway, these John Sears-produced tracks tap into the final stiffie and oxy shared life experience that we all pretty much have in our list of mental scars – high school. That the (typically) bonks and dumbs lyrics of opener 'Ankstiyeti' (Angsty Yeti?) are as appealing to those way past the 10 year reunion as they are to kids still needing to remember to turn to the left, past zero, to the second number says something about those of us who might not have picked a duet by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes as their senior class song. Observe:

I HATE KIDS! DON’T STOP PLEASE STOP DON’T STOP LOOKING AT ME! HIGH SCHOOL HALLS! YOU’RE TOO PACKED! HIGH SCHOOL HALLS! FILLED WITH RATS!

Remember that? Or how about the lyrical entirety of 'Dancing is My Bad,' which we are going to assume is a succinct and brilliant incitement of the Coke-n Apparel explosion that’s taken the city by hold as of late:

DANCE CRAZE(?)! NEW WAVE! GOLD CHAINS! HEADACHES!

You see, without Centaur Cop Top, you wouldn’t get this. It would just be slamming around to whatever the hell they were singing and wondering if that was actually how things were supposed to sound. Think of it as a tourist brochure to the real experience – a narration to the rawness of the live experience, and a reminder that the primacy and takes-you-back of the experience is multifaceted. Though the recent departure of original bassist Nate (FTDHD) might change lord knows what about them, we remain pretty assured with this recording that Cop Warmth isn’t just a cute band that people like cause they are so young. If they stick it out, and we hope they do, we’re pretty stoked about the one-minute acts of vinegar snakes pissing pepper sauce that they come up with next. Recommended.

(Note that the Centaur Cop Top EP was a Grey Ghost release, and therefore may only be available in very limited numbers directly from the band itself).

Stream: Cop Warmth – Various Tracks