Cousin – Music To Polish Your Rifle To (2015)

Cousin’s soon-to-be-released second album, Songs To Polish Your Rifle To (heh) is possibly one of the most chilled out math rock albums I’ve ever listened to. Cousin’s ‘tight but loose’ is something we explored in a previous Focus feature, and it is no surprise that this texture is retained here. While doing background research I also discovered their self-applied genre tag, ‘doom pop’, and have come to realise that it’s actually a pretty apt inclusion. Cousin has effectively meld the slow, limp riffing that characterises doom metal with super bright, interwoven, melodic guitar lines.

From the (incredibly catchy) riff that kicks off ‘Dry Steering On A Wet Road’, the twin layered guitar lines and rumbling bass lines cut a tumbling, relaxed groove that progresses and morphs throughout each track. The band are particularly fond of regular 4/4 and 3/4 time signature switches that keep the first two tracks lively and moving. The pace begins to pick up a little on ‘Which Schnitzel’ and ‘Oversized Haulage’, but couldn’t ever be described as hurried. Some songs, most notably the closer ‘Legitimate Concerns’, have a distinctly emo flavour and wouldn’t sound out of place on a new Topshelf Records release.

If you’re looking for well crafted, light-hearted math rock then I heartily recommend Cousins. I look forward to more doom pop in the future.