CoCoComa: Things Are Not All Right

The first thing you need to know about CoCoComa is that its level of energy is akin to Pixie Sticks in a supercollider. Husband-and-wife Bill and Lisa Roe, along with bassist Mike Fitzpatick, rumble through the ten songs of its second album, Things Are Not All Right, like its aflame with discontent and the only way to stop the fire is to stop, drop, and rock and roll. There is also an instantly familiarity in its terse two-minute songs, such that you can practically smell the oil stains and musky cardboard of the band’s garage. The album is a frenzied blur from start to finish, which unfortunately means that while it’s extremely fun, it’s also unvaried. Each song blends into the next with barely a chord change in a spirited nod to punk’s stylings, and the tempo is unchanging, set to as-fast-as-you-can.

Is this a bad thing? Not if you just want to shake and break, bash and thrash, and just plain forget being a wallflower. What CoCoComa lacks in diversity on Things Are Not All Right, with the underlying message of social change, it more than makes up for with impassioned delivery. Some records are made for listening, and others are made for getting off your ass.