Since the classic Sanchez/Savoy lineup splintered a dozen years ago, Cowboy Mouth have seemed a bit unsure of how to present themselves in the studio: they’ve done albums that were too heavy on modern production, others were raw and demo-sounding. They didn’t truly get it right until their recent pair of compilation/remake CD’s, The Name of the Band is Cowboy Mouth, which featured two new songs per disc. On those the band sounded recharged and the production was live and immediate, with the guitars and Fred LeBlanc’s drums right in your face where they should be.
That approach carries over to this EP, and if the five new songs here had been combined with the new songs on the comps, it would be the best Mouth album in decades. The opening “Oh Toulouse!” makes the most of the current lineup’s strength—particularly the double-lead guitar combination of John Thomas Griffith and newer guy Matt Jones, who make the riff with their trade-offs. Lyrically it shows LeBlanc’s knack for writing a smart, non-obvious party song; the words riff on every possible use of Toulouse (the street, the painter and the obvious pun). Also party-ready is their cover of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” which continues their tradition of unlikely covers, going back to Loretta Lynn’s ”Don’t Come Home a-Drinking” in the old days.
Like the best Mouth albums, notably Voodoo Shoppe with its post-Katrina songs, this album closes with a pair of more serious numbers. Both were written well before the pandemic, but they sound applicable now: “King of the World” evinces the punk-rock heart that the band’s all about, with LeBlanc reminding you to believe in yourself (“Where’s the king of the world, where’s the rock and roll star?”) “The Last Sad Song” opens with a vocal cameo from Griffith, it turns into one of LeBlanc’s better songs about being lowdown and getting back up. It’s largely a breakup song, but its core sentiments—“Did you ever get the feeling you were walking through the world alone?”—hint at something more universal.
They undercut the new material a bit by including yet another version of “Jenny Says,” (I’m guessing it’s the same remake from the comp)—they would have done better to include “Too Many Jennys,” which makes fun of themselves for recycling their hit so often. The bulk of the EP however gives them less reason to just rely on the oldies when their live show comes around.
