Tay over at Somebody Come and Play once again made an awesome recommendation via his podcast, and this time it was for the Irish boy that goes by the name of So Cow.  Tay has been playing So Cow on his podcast over the past couple months, and as soon as I saw the record I had to pick it up.

So Cow is Brian Kelly of Taum, Ireland.  When you hear the opening track “Casablanca” you start to think that there is no way the rest of the LP could possibly be this good, but So Cow keeps the surprises coming.  While Kelly is from Ireland he spent time living, and recording in South Korea, and this shows.

Overall I have been really impressed with the self titled collection of best of, reworked, and new songs that came out on Tic Tac Totally.  This wonderful 18 song album keeps going, and doesn’t gets old.  I guess So Cow is most easily classified as up beat low-fi pop, but Kelly is a master at entertaining the ears. His lyrics are clever, and his refreshingly diverse music accompanies it wonderfully. Just when you think it can’t get better he busts out “100 Helens,” and for me it doesn’t get much better than a Kids in the Hall reference.

I have been rocking this record every morning this week, and just want to hear more…since it isn’t digital I just placed an order for So Cow’s These Truly Are End Times, and I’m Siding With My Captors through his myspace ( I’m Siding With My Captors is also available via eMusic).  Although some of the songs are the same I’ll be happy to rock it on the subway!

So Cow will be touring the States as a three piece next month, and the first couple shows are right here in NYC:

5/7/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls w/ German Measles, Die Hard, and Mr. Falcon

5/8/09- Queens, NY @ The Silent Barn

5/9/09- New York, NY @ Death By Audiow (Less Artist More Condos Presents!) w/ Pink Reason

for more tour dates all around the US check out the So Cow myspace.

Listen to So Cow:

[mp3] So Cow- “Casablanca” (off of the self titled LP) (via WFMU Blog)

[free ep download] So Cow- So Cow In A Shed! (So Cow covers Television Personalities, Kim Jung Mi, The Who, Fiddle Bambi, Annie Philippe, Big Monster Love, and Tracey Ullman.)

The new So Cow LP looks beautiful with a full color sleeve, and just is a great record overall (so far it’s my favorite release of 2009!).  I know I normally post the quantity pressed, and what not…but as of now this info is not available for this record.  I picked up my copy of the LP at the Academy Annex in Brooklyn, and I am pretty sure that Permanent Records (also in Brooklyn) will be stocking it soon.  If you don’t live near these stores I highly recommend picking it up from Tick Tac Totally.

Buy the So Cow LP from Tic Tac Totally!

photo by Loreana Rushe