Over the past thirty years Cosmic Psychos have been an almost constant presence in the heart and livers of every beer swilling pub dweller.
The band’s outright commitment to never stray from their comfortable spot in blokey pub punk has kept them a damn loyal fanbase. This is in spite of many a lineup change with frontman and bass player Ross Knight the only constant member.
Matt Weston’s documentary Blokes You Can Trust gave the band’s popularity a kick up the arse a couple of years back which firmly cemented them in Australia’s musical history. So, what can old and new fans expect from their new work of art Cum The Raw Prawn?
Suprise! There Is No Surprises!
Cosmic Psychos’ method of making music hasn’t really changed over the years, a process we assume probably involves Knight calling whoever is in the band at the time, drinking himself sober and slurring out provocations to no one in particular. If you didn’t like it before then you’re not not going to like it now.
Knight’s beloved overdriven bass sound cuts up the lower levels of every song like a chainsaw. Guitarist John McKeering is given his space to shred a few solos between the three or four chord progressions with some gut busting work in ‘Pint Girl’.
Drummer Dean Muller’s fills and drum rolls are tighter than a duck’s proverbial throughout but he absolutely destroys it in ‘Ack Ack’. He even gets to use a cowbell in ‘Bum For Grubs’ which is almost experimental for Cosmic Psychos.
Your Mum Is Going To Hate It
Your mum is going to hate it. Unless your mum is still rocking up to The Tote every weekend, getting sloshed and using you as her designated driver then chances are she’s going to take a bit of umbrage at lines like these: “Take me home/I’ll check your bum for grubs. Fuckwit City is the place where you belong. You was kissin’ him/He was kissin’ me arse/Coz I’m washing me arse with your toothbrush”
Knight’s Lyrics Stick To What He Knows
Which is apparently beer, sex and being pissed off.
There’s always been a no bullshit policy for the band and it’s arguably whatís made them beloved by many. It may be in a coarse offensive manner but that’s who Knight is and he’s not going to change to make you want to fuck him. If you need any proof of that then have a listen to the title track ‘Cum The Raw Prawn’ where Knight tells an unnamed uppity aggressor to fuck themselves for the last minute of the song.
The Recording Is Loose
[include_post id=”447934″] Simply, there’s heaps of dog noises and other general shit going around in the background.
The end of ‘Didn’t Want To Love Me’ sees Knight doing his best acapella singing with a bunch of dogs and what sounds like people giving him backup. So what? Well music geeks, the album was recorded on Knightís farm out near Sunbury in rural Victoria so those are his dogs! Why mention that? Not too sure really but people seem to care about that sort of thing and when you’re stuck for conversation next you can drop that little nugget.
Unexplainable And Unexplained Intros
Before a few of the songs are these weird almost spoken word pieces where the lads talk about selling tiles, shooting sheriffs and sometimes just inaudibly mumble.
None of it is ever alluded to or even remotely consistent with the songís content so why include it? Music conspiracy alarm bells were ringing loud and clear so we tested out the old ‘backwards message’ trick. On the surface, ‘Come And Get Some’ seems to be about inviting people into a battle of wits and eating fish and chips but when you play the inaudible intro backwards, a truly sinister meaning comes to light. We canít repeat it here for fear of litigation but we can show you the door. It’s your job to walk through it.
Cum The Raw Prawn is out now via Desperate Records
‘Cum The Raw Prawn’ Tour Dates
W/ Dune Rats
Friday, 5 June – Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta
Saturday, 6 June – Crowbar (Psychos Only)
Friday, 12 June – Chelsea Heights Hotel, Melbourne
Saturday, 13 June – Max Watts (formerly Hi-Fi), Melbourne
Thursday, 18 June – The Cambridge Hotel
Friday, 19 June – Manning Bar, Sydney
Saturday, 20t June – Mona Vale Hotel, Sydney
Thursday, 25 June – The Gov, Adelaide
Friday, 26 June – Settlers Tavern, Perth
Saturday, 27 June – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Cosmic Psychos will be performing as part of Bigsound 2015. Line up and info at www.qmusic.com.au/bigsound
