Labels: self released
Review by: Samuel Rogers
So Cow is the mostly-solo project of Brian Kelly, a singer-guitarist from Galway who is also the
frontman of Half Forward Line. In both projects, Kelly plays tuneful but discordant indie pop. His
sings deadpan songs that are mostly whimsical, sometimes oddball, often self-deprecating. There’s
an infectious simplicity and clever poetry about his songs, without the smug knowingness of certain
indie egomaniacs. Punk energy sometimes starts to sneak in, but a better reference point would be
the lo-fi side of 1980s indie rock and jangle pop.
Apart from piano on one track, Kelly plays everything on this record. He also home-recorded the
album and seems to be self-releasing it on cassette and CD. Some moments are just vocals and
guitar, but mostly we get a full-band sound, switching from acoustic to electric guitars, occasionally
introducing vintage keyboard and synth touches. The result is remarkably clean and professional, but
has the rough edges of a DIY ethos that are so often lost in commercial releases. If you can tell the
Soft Boys from the Wedding Present, you’re roughly the target audience for this. But there’s a
creative energy and integrity here, which can also be appreciated by us non-aficionados of indie.