Speaking in Cursive

Two Cow Garage | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Suburban Home
• ASIN: B001GF5JYA
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,083 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Some bands aspire to be all that and a side of cheese grits. Other bands are all that and a side of cheese grits. Listening to Two Cow Garage s new album Speaking in Cursive, one gets the feeling that the Columbus, Ohio based band falls somewhere in the middle between being merely good and being great. From the drum-heavy opening track Your Humble Narrator to the quick, lush closing number Swallowed by the Sea , there is a definite sense that the quintet is shooting for the moon. The result is a blend of folk, rock, and alt-country tunes that manage to be seize the ears without being over-the-top. The first thing that jumps out about the album is the unevenness of the tracks. Listening to the, dark folk-rock inspired Your Humble Narrator side by side with the upbeat Brass Ring , it is easy to get the feeling that this is a work in progress. Yet despite the songs don t sound polished, like a lot of tunes do these days, their appeal lies in the fact that they are so raw and emotional. If anyone is expecting the status quo ante from this group, think again. Their effort to stand out is helped by Micah Schabel s throaty, smoke-filled voice and talent for storytelling. His voice is reminiscent of Tom Waits or a lyrical Charles Bukowski. Appropriate, given the album s rumination on all things forlorn and bittersweet. Shane Sweeney s deep, bass vocals don t disappoint either, although at times he seems to aspire to be the next Bruce Springsteen, especially on The Heart and the Crown , which at certain points is eerily reminiscent of the folk-rock icon s Born to Run . Yet, as the great poet once said, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and no band is more sincere than Two Cow Garage. However, in terms of its intensity and depth of feeling, no album comes even close to Speaking in Cursive, not least the albums this writer has heard. One would have to go back several years indeed to the root of the grunge, alternative and post-punk scene which was the musical incubator for Schnabel and Sweeney during their youth to find records as moving. That the band mines gems in genres that has been quickly forgotten by the public, is both praiseworthy and a sad commentary on the state of indie rock in general. Whereas other bands forsake authenticity in favor of big cars and even bigger paychecks, the quintet stays true to who they are. That is the highest compliment that anyone can say of a band that, in the space of only six years, has gone from being a regional player in the Great Lakes to having a significant presence on MySpace. Though it would be easy to dismiss this band as yet another group of would-be rock stars hanging on to the last threads of their rock-and-roll dream, to underestimate them would be like underestimating an avalanche. Sure, it might not look like much at first, until someone is buried by the snow. Two Cow Garage is that avalanche, and we are its victims. -John Winn --Racket Magazine

Product Description

After releasing 3 really incredible albums, Columbus, Ohio's Two Cow Garage are back with the greatest release of their career. Having received comparisons to bands like Lucero and the Drive By Truckers, "Speaking In Cursive" finds the band moving past their influences and finding their sound. Comments on the new songs have compared the band to an alt-country Lawrence Arms which I had never quite thought of until it was brought up. Regardless of comparisons, the album rocks and will fit in nicely with your punk, alt-country, or rock records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing album, January 7, 2011

By 

Philip Garcia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Speaking in Cursive (Audio CD)

This is the album where Two Cow Garage come "of age". There older albums were good, but if there music had stayed at the level of their earlier albums, I wouldn't be putting these guys on best of lists every time I hear a song by them. Speaking in Cursive is where Two Cow found their lead, their soul, and really came into their sound. The vocals are gravely, but the songwriting is top notch. The albums speak of life, and although there were songs that hinted at the greatness that would come from their earlier albums, this one just blew them all away. The songs on this album all rock, not a clunker in the bunch, and the lyrics... well those just speak to me like no other. These guys have been through it all, and it shows. The soulful singing that turns into furious punk rock songs is all here. I would start giving examples of the best parts of this album, but then I'd want to go through every song, and quote them all.

I know Two Cow might not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of alt-country, the replacements, bruce springsteen, Bob Dylan, etc. . . well you get the picture. These guys just bring it all. Give these guys a chance, it make take a few listens, I didn't get into this album the first time, but over time, after listening to it a handful of times, it grew on me like nothing else. Speaking in cursive is one of my favorite albums by any band, the only album thats come out in recent years that I'd put above it is The newest Two Cow Album: Sweet Saint Me, but that's for a different review.

3.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 -- Gravel voiced punk meets Americana, January 4, 2009

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Speaking in Cursive (Audio CD)

If cowpunk had steeped somewhere less urbane than Los Angeles, and if its progenitors had brought along the raw amperage of their punk backgrounds, it might have sounded more like this Columbus, Ohio band. Vocalist/songwriter Micah Schnabel sings in a hoarse gargle that's several steps past "raspy" or "roughhewn," and his self-reflective lyrics are backed alternately by hard-charging electric rock and acoustic country-folk. He's a cynical sort, mocking his powers as a musician with the opener's lyric, "So if it lights you up, and if it turns you on / I will sing to you all your favorite songs." An ambivalence surfaces in the relationship of "Skinny Legged Girl," with a love letter in one hand, a poison pen in the other, and his ambivalence extends to music itself, compelled to keep writing, but feeling "it was arrogant to think from the start, you were the only backyard Dylan with a folksinger's heart." Schnabel's gravelly delivery is more Tom Waits than Bob Dylan, and a few of the songs, such as "Glass City," offer the rising tide of an E Street Band epic. The band's Americana influences are heard in the jangly rocker "Wooden Teeth," the emotional ballad "Not Your Friends," the twangy "Swallowed by the Sea" (with bassist Shane Sweeney providing the low lead vocal), and the exceptional acoustic autobiography "Swingset Assassin." In addition to Waits and Springsteen, the Replacements and Uncle Tupelo provide obvious antecedents; less obvious are Big Star, the Goo Goo Dolls and even Bryan Adams, and contemporaries like Drag the River and the Drive By Truckers. In the end, Schnabel's voice is too unique for such simple comparisons, his lyrics too intimately autobiographical, and the band's combination of fiery punk rock and earthy Americana quite unlike any one of their forerunners. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy top 5 of 2008, December 28, 2008

By 

Kyle Carlson - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Speaking in Cursive (Audio CD)

This album currently sits at number 2 on my list of top 10 albums of 2008. It frickin' rocks. From start to finish there is not really a weak song on it. Swingset Assassin isn't good, but the rest are awesome. I would say this is Two Cow's best album of their career.