Cousins - The Palm At The End Of The Mind 8.3

                Cousins make some foot-stopping stuff. Now this blindsided me. I put this on and was blown away right from the first track. There’s a lot of energy behind these nine tracks. If indie rock needed an ideal sound Cousins would be it. Sonically it has enough punch, possesses enough of a sense of humor, and is downright catchy. Everything on here is pitch-perfect. Even the little flourishes, random little instruments thrown in, are wonderfully done, such as the piano on the opener ‘Jules’. 

                ‘Jules’ is a great opener. Other tracks are much more in the stomping vein, such as ‘Khyber’ which is pure joy. There’s a garage rock vibe to these songs, a celebration of simplicity. Most of these tracks are delightfully simple. Strong percussion, straightforward vocals, and a western twang to the guitars make up the majority. In fact, only one song even possesses a noticeable electronic influence (a synthesizer) on the song ‘Defense’. The rest possess an effortless garage stomp most bands would kill for. Yet what Cousins does is a little different from most garage rock bands. Most garage rock bands take their cues from the 60s. Cousins is clearly influenced by 70s rock. 

                 The closer ‘Die’ uses the singer’s drunken voice to full effect. On here they take a life-affirming role. While the whole album is great, this is by far the best on the whole set. I think it is specifically designed to get stuck in your brain. 

                Everything on ‘The Palm at the End of the Mind’ is immediately enjoyable. This isn’t a grower, this is instantly enjoyable. Multiple listens do nothing but confirm that fact.