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...REVIEWS !!
COCKTAILS
Hypochondriac
LP
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german dutch
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ENGLISH
maximumrocknroll.com(USA) NOV 2021 Excellent escapist power pop in the wistful spirit of PAUL COLLINS. Like a mid-tempo FLAMIN’ GROOVIES, their Bay Area antecedent, writing songs about hanging out with friends, falling through love, summertime on the West Coast, and an innocence that evokes earlier long-gone times. Beautifully crafted tunes with a sound like it could have come from ’70s power pop, ’80s suburban rock, or the Lookout! roster from the ’90s. Moog leads and guitar melodies with boy/girl vocals telling tales of innocent worries that make you want to put on your Radio Shack headphones and curl up in the bean bag chair and forget it’s 2021. Plus, they drop an excellent despondent country breakdown song in there with “Washoe County.” (TJ)
Strutter Mag (NL) Nov 2020 When listening to the first couple of songs of the new album Catastrophic entertainment of the band COCKTAILS, it's like we're back in time to the year 1980, because this kind of fun catchy uptempo Melodic Powerpop/Poprock was around that year the most popular genre in the Western musicworld. It was more or less the period when there was a transition from late 1970s UK Punkrock, early 1980s NWOBHM/Hardrock, early 1980s US AOR/Poprock to 1980s British New Wave. Powerpop took a bit of all these genres and added some Pop sugarness to make it radio-ready whike still rocking out uptempo most of the time. I hear so many similarities that I could fill a full page, but I guess if you're into for example MOON MARTIN, RICK SPRINGFIELD, THE KNACK, THE ROMANTICS, THE BOYS, 4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS, NOVO COMBO, THE SHOES, 20/20, THE RECORDS, DWIGHT TWILLEY, CHEAP TRICK, THE ONLY ONES and such, then you're safe and well here. COCKTAILS are coming out of San Francisco and Catastrophic entertainment is their 3rd album so far. The band's line up consists of singer/songwriter Patrick Clos, lead guitarist Joel Cusumano, synth/vocalist Lauren Matsui, bassist Rob Goodson, and drummer Phil Lantz. Their sound is so authentic that you might almost believe we are listening to a remastered 1980 record, but believe me that COCKTAILS is a real new band with brand-new songs that just recall the long-forgotten days of all those aforementioned acts. 11 songs are on the album, of which opener Bun E. Carlos is pure 1980 uptempo Powerpop, while the following uptempo Powerpop tune Nobody's going to the movies reveals some slight AOR/Poprock influences, thanks to the lovely soaring guitarsolo and superb catchy chorus. The album continues with likewise another catchy uptempo Powerpop affair in the shape of Janeland. Then we get to hear great female vocals (I think Lauren sings here) in the fantastic quirky early 1980s US female fronted Melodic Poprocker Love is gone that sits nicely between BLONDIE, SUE SAAD & THE NEXT, early 80s PAT BENATAR and SPIDER. Washoe county follows in the classic Powerpop direction again, while Side-A closes with Never be alone, a quirky Powerpop tune a la early THE CARS. Side-B opens with one of the few uptempo Powerpop tunes that actually reveals a tiny bit of early 90s retro college rock/psychedelic poprock of bands like TEENAGE FANCLUB, THE POSIES and JELLYFISH, which can also be heard on the following ballad ish Buried alive. One of my favorite songs follows, because Waiting on the summer is an incredible catchy early 1980s US Melodic Poprocker that sounds like the perfect cross between RICK SPRINGFIELD and THE CARS during the hard rocking' anthemic chorus! This song also recalls the 90s retro punkpop sound of bands like WEEZER, FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE, THE CLICK FIVE and such. COCKTAILS would be a perfect fit for the International Pop Overthrow Festival, which is held each year (pre-corona) all over the world. I visited the wonderful Liverpool edition in 2019 and hopefully in the future I will be able to do it again! Anyway, the album continues with another excellent catchy uptempo Melodic Powerpoprocker titled Those changes that recalls the late 1970s Punkpop sound of THE BOYS and THE UNDERTONES. The album closes with Take it back, an early 90s deadringer for fans of TEENAGE FANCLUB! Concluded, this is a highly recommended Powerpop album that sounds like a cross between all the mentioned acts, although actually COCKTAILS has an own identity that happens to be quite sensational!
hearasingle.blogspot.com (USA) July 2020 Great Power Pop albums aren't that easy to find at the moment. Truth is they haven't been for a while. So it's refreshing to hear something that is. San Francisco's Cocktails have mastered that feel of the late 70s / early 80s wave of Power Pop that was aided by the post punk New Wave explosion. Think The Records, The Sinceros, The Rubinoos et al. Hooks are plentiful, choruses are big, riffs grab hold of you and love is lost and found. All of this is achieved with aplomb with an adept ability to not appear to be a pastiche. Songs are fully formed, the arrangements and playing are top notch and there are some fine guitar solos to single out. There is even a hint of Chinn and Chapman Glam at times, particularly on Waiting On The Summer which reminds me a lot of The Speedways. When the album steps away from Power Pop, there are even great rewards. Those Changes is great New Wave with a Cars like synth run and a real similarity to The Only Ones. You'd expect Bun E. Carlos, a song named after Cheap Trick's ex drummer to be 70s Pop Rock, but it sounds more like Ash. All of these comparisons are worthy. Take It Back is a fine slacker closer in Weezer territory and the stand out song here, Nobody's Going To The Movies has every single component that you would expect to achieve a Summer Single Smash.11 songs in 27 minutes more than suits the genre and there is so much to like here. Catastrophic Entertainment is the type of album that you would hear in abundance when I Don't Hear A Single started. Sadly Power Pop has lost itself in Groundhog Day nonsense since. Thank goodness, the likes of Cocktails can see through the long grass.
MRR
#414 (USA) Jan 2018 Wow. This awesome. Infectiously catchy power
pop with perfect harmonies. If that sounds like something you might like, then
you need to get in search of this. I´m not sure if it´s the songs
or the recording, but this really reminds me of power pop circa 1979. Same of
the songs are male-fronted, but the female vocals also play a part. All of the
songs seem to have a soft prettiness to them and the organ has more than a fill-in-role.
Depending on how you look at them, most of the songs can be seen either upbeat
or sort of reflective (KK)
RAZORCAKE #101 (USA) NOV 2017 I’ve heard a lot of bands mixing garage rock or garage punk with ‘70s power pop influences lately, but San Francisco’s Cocktails take the straight, unadulterated power pop approach, as there’s little punk or garage influence to be found here. I generally love most of this old power pop stuff when it’s done well, but where Cocktails are concerned, I just wish it had a little more… bite. Unfortunately for me, “bite” isn’t really the sound that a “by-the-books” power pop band is really looking for. I can hear influence here from some ‘70s power pop pioneers like Shoes as well as ‘90s fuzz pop disciples like Teenage Fanclub or maybe even Supergrass, and they seem to be well versed in crafting tuneful pop songs, but leaves me a bit unfulfilled as someone who likes a little more punk in his pop (Mark Twistworthy)
AUDIO AMMUNITION (USA) June 2017 Alien Snatch adds yet another gem to its catalog with San Francisco’s Cocktails. Cocktails doesn’t sound like what I’ve been used to hearing from this long running German label, these guys play some fairly mellow tunes that straddles the wall between power pop and indie rock. It’s not noisy or dreary like a lot of indie rock or shoegaze at all, the music has got a definite snap to its step but it glides down your ear canal, it doesn’t clumsily tumble or race down your to your inner ear. It’s very well produced, the guitars sound fresh and the vocals are Sunday morning crisp. This kind of production does this style of music justice. Superb record all around (J Castro)
VOIX DE GARAGE March 2021 J’avais déjà (http://voixdegaragegrenoble.blogspot.com/2017/06/chronique-strange-milk-satellite-jockey.html) dit énormément de bien de leur 1er album, et, étrangement j’ai raté la sortie du suivant. Et pourtant il est de nouveau sur le même label : Alien Snatch Rds dont j’adore le travail… 8 mois plus tard je me rattrape. Pourtant au début j’ai trouvé ce 2ème album très en dessous du précédent… the sophomore jinx sûrement… Mais rapidement cette impression s’est totalement dissipée tant ce disque est gorgé d’excellentes chansons ! Quelque part entre College Rock, Power Pop, Indie Rock 90 avec une touche de Garage… Cette sorte de syncrétisme sonnant très actuelle et pas trop tributaire de chapelles ou d’influences... Avec une fixette sur les early 90’s Rentals/Weezer (mais un Weezer qui aurait cessé de prendre ses fans pour des gogos et se serait décidé à enfin refaire de grands albums) jusqu’au Fastbacks… Mais pas seulement on sent que Cocktails écoute et aime en plus des groupes des 70’s tout comme des 60’s et même sûrement des 80’s… Sans copier ils composent des chansons qui mélangent brillement guitare et claviers (orgue, synthé, Moog…) avec plein de mélodies qu’ils développent de façon élégante et parfois inattendue! Ça se déguste comme un bon cru bourgeois (comme on disait dans le temps) ça émoustille les papilles et ça ragaillardit ! Du plaisir !Plein ! (BT)
Undergound Society (FRANCE) DECEMBER 2017 Tous droits issus de la scène prolifique de San Francisco, les quatres jeunes complices pratiquent une pop garage digne des plus grands et place enfin ce "Hypochondriac dans la lumière avec notamment cette édition vinyle proposée par Alien Snatch qui a fait un gros travail de pressage. N'usant que d'instruments basiques, le groupe Cocktails balance 11 morceaux impétueux, qui ne sont pas sans rappeler les premiers albums des The Strokes dans ses instants les plus créatifs. Les premières plages évoluent dans un garage pop/punk. Des compos qui figurent le style du groupe avec "Real World" pour moi le premier tube de cet album, "20,000 Arms" et sa mélodie imparable qui donne une autre image du groupe dans sa façon de composer les titres, "Best Friend" et "Drag You Down", respectivement en passant de la pop, de riffs rock'n roll à des sonorités très 70's !!! Assez écclectique, "Hypochondriac" amorce une nouvelle approche de la façon qu'à Cocktail d'expérimenter et de se remettre en question par rapport à son évolution musicale depuis "Adult Life" sortit chez Father/Daughter Records. C’est dans ce registre que Coctails révèle le plus convaincant. Ils libèrent tellement d’énergie dans chaque titres, que même faiblement produits, les titres arrivent à leur apogéé, tout en savourant l'écoute d'un tel disque intemporel ! Ne manquez pas Cocktails lors d'une prochaine tournnée Européenne !! ( s'ils veulent bien revenir par chez nous !!! ) ... (PD)
Dig
It ! (FRANCE) #71 October 2017 Et
on finit notre petite balade du côté de San Francisco avec la version
vinyle de l'album
des Cocktails, Hypochondriac, initialement édité par le label
Father/Daughter Rds. Ce deuxième opus fait suite au Lp Adult Life de
2014 et propose toujours cette powerpop ultra-léchée, entre esprit
sixties, Cheap Trick et influences plus nineties... On peut aussi y retrouver
un côté Warm Soda, pour les plus garagistes d'entre nous, notamment
dans le traitement de la voix. (LS)
VOIX
DE GARAGE (FR) June 2017 Du
fait que cet album sorte chez les allemands d’Alien Snatch Rds j’attendais
quelque chose de plus Garage Punk avec guitare abrasive. Les californiens de
Cocktails pratiquent une Power Pop dans la veine Indie 90 avec Moog et lorgne
du côté des Rentals / Weezer (de la grande époque) / Teenage
Fan Club, voir Fastbacks ou Redd Kross. Et Cocktails se hisse à ce niveau
grâce à d’excellentes chansons et des hits en puissance pour
College Radio. Plein de mélodies et de hook accrocheurs, la guitare et
le moog joue parfaitement en complément et l’alternance de voix
masculine / féminine est un gros plus. Originalement sortit en cassette
chez Father/Daughter Rds cet album bénéficie enfin d’une
édition vinyle agrémentée d’un titre bonus. Au vu
de sa qualité c’est totalement mérité !!! Un disque
et des chansons qui donnent envie de rouler direct jusqu’à la plage
! Le top!
RUMORE (IT) Nov 2020 Una dichiarazione d’intenti iniziare con Bun E. Carlos, che porta il nome del batterista dei Cheap Trick. Difficile immaginare qualcosa di più estivo del power pop con la maglia a righe indie del gruppo di Frisco. La voce di Patrick Clos è avvolta dai sintetizzatori e dai cori carezzevoli di Lauren Matsui. È sempre l’armonia - friabile e mai sopra le righe - quella che comanda: che le chitarra di Joel Cusumano alzi il livello (Waiting On The Summer), la voce di Lauren si prenda la scena (Love Is Gone), che irrompa brina acustica (Buried Alive) o classic rock (Washoe County), che le melodie avvolgenti dei Teenage Fanclub si appiccichino sulla cute (Never Be Alone). È l’armonia a segnare la strada: anche quando questa finisce, avvolta dalla nostalgia gassosa dei Weezer era Pinkerton (Take It Back). (77/100)
RUMORE (IT) Sep 2017 Pubblicato su cassetta in edizione limitata l’estate scorsa da Father/Daughter, il secondo album dei californiani approda in Europa su vinile, con in più Murder On TV, per la gioia di chi ama rimanere impigliato nella rete del power pop dal sapore indie. Invero dopo i 30 secondi del preludio parte una Real World dal leggero carico lo-fi glam che porta dritti nella cameretta di Matthew Melton tra gli ultimi Bare Wires e i primi Warm Soda. A partire dall’esaltante Hospital Bed si fa strada l’indie rock dei ’90, alla Lemonheads e Teenage Fanclub per capirci, con un pizzico di Muffs di Kim Shattuck per via degli interventi vocali della nippoamericana Lauren Matsui che dà squisiti rintocchi di Moog. Hypochondriac è un gran bel disco, zeppo di armonie rinfrescanti, che se ne fotte della modernità.
OX (GER) #153 DEC 2020 Wer bereits den Hosenlatz-Öffner seines Albums nach dem CHEAP TRICK-Schlagzauberer Bun E. Carlos benennt, hat mich schon auf seiner Seite. Doch prinzipiell wäre derartige Überzeugungsarbeit im Falle der COCKTAILS eigentlich überhaupt nicht nötig gewesen, hat mich doch bereits der Vorgänger „Hypochondriac“ zu einem Sturm der Begeisterung hingerissen. Auch „Catastrophic Entertainment“ schlägt mit seinem Amalgam aus Seventies-Power-pop im Sinne der RUBINOOS und SHOES, Eighties-New Wave à la THE KNACK, dezenten Chinnichap-Trademark-Extravaganzen sowie Nineties-Indiepop wieder mächtige Wellen an der Freibadrutsche. Grundsätzlich kann man den COCKTAILS also erneut sämtliche Qualitäten für eine amtliche Fortset-zung des „Pinball Summer“-Soundtracks von Jay Boivin und Germain Gauthier bescheinigen, die selbst Frosty den Tiger nicht kaltlassen sollte und somit durchaus Potenzial für eine Revolution des Cerealien-Frühstücksfernsehens hornbrilliger Junior High School Kids bietet .(9/10) (KH)
OX MAGAZINE #134 Oct 2017 Leichtfüßiger MONKEES-Muschelstrand-Bomp!-Pop aus der SHOES-Sandburg-Schmiede mit verschmustverzerrter Moog-Synth-Begleitung und POPPEES- Harmonien zwischen den sonnenverwöhnten Campus-Tramp-Zehen. Zartschmelzend wie der Goody-Goody-Gumdrops-Morgentau auf einer abgelaufenen Dose Budweiser nach der zum Bong-Hit-Barbecue ausgearteten College- Radio-Party am Vorabend, die Evan Dando endgültig den Führerschein kostete. Merke, auch die anfangs oftmals am naiv unschuldigsten erscheinenden Brillenschlangen mit gleichermaßen Senf- und Schwitzfl ecken auf dem verlabberten Karohemd können in ihrer sorglosen Gelassenheit zum Auslöser einer unerwarteten Schwangerschaft werden, von deren Entstehungsprozess nur der gnadenlose hämmernde Kater am Folgetag zeugt, was schlußendlich doch genau die elementaren Bestandteile einer großen Pop Arie widerspiegelt, wie sie von hysterisch kreischenden Teenagern erwartet und ihr mit Ohnmachtsanfällen gedankt wird. (9/10) (DK)