EP REVIEW: EPeepee – Cowboy Hunters

Building up considerable hype via their legendary live shows over their relatively short career, Glaswegian duo COWBOY HUNTERS prove that their live energy can translate to an equally bombastic record on their debut EP EPeepee.

Few artists get the opportunities to prove themselves in front of a live audience before releasing their debut EP that COWBOY HUNTERS have. Supporting big names like FRANZ FERDINAND, BOB VYLAN and SLEAFORD MODS around the UK has let the instrument-swapping punk duo hone their rambunctious live set. Their first EP EPeepee acts as a test of whether their off-the-wall punk spirit stays intact when confined to a studio.

With dual vocals, driving rhythm section and bratty punk attitude, the EP’s opening track Have A Pint acts as the perfect introduction to the world of COWBOY HUNTERS. Have A Pint feels like getting kicked in the chin with a cheap shot of sourz in your mouth, disorienting, cheeky and exhilarating all in one two and a half minute blast of swirling synths, shouted vocals and distorted guitars. Reeking of spilt beer and sweat, COWBOY HUNTERS are a band built for sticky floored basements, even if a recording can’t capture the atmosphere they’re most comfortable in the duo’s debut EP is at least enough to get your heart pumping.

While hardly reciting Engels or The Dalai Lama, COWBOY HUNTERS do show evidence of some depth below the rowdy, distorted surface. Adding a political slant to their party-hard attitude on tracks like Shag Slags Not Flags and Cuntry Girl, COWBOY HUNTERS attack the normalisation of right wing, nationalist ideals with a cheeky wink and a Doc Marten to the crotch. While sentiments like “serve cunt not countries” are hardly subtle, COWBOY HUNTERS’ brand of abrasive yet danceable punk is a much better sledgehammer than a scalpel.

Only clocking in at five songs and under ten minutes total, EPeepee manages to pack a monumental punch into a package the size of a post-it note. Closing track Dust Caps takes a slightly more subtle approach than much of the rest of the EP, pairing sparse percussion with detached vocals in the slower verses before lurching back into their usual screeching post-punk in the memorable stomp-along chorus. Not a band to outstay their welcome COWBOY HUNTERS rip through their tight ten minutes and bolt out the back door, screaming all the way.

EPeepee is a short, sweet blast of stomping, shredding punk with just enough substance to sink your teeth into while being thrown around a dimly lit venue basement. In under ten minutes COWBOY HUNTERS set themselves up as one of the UK’s most exciting new acts.

Rating: 8/10

EPeepee is out now via self release. 

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