More anxious than swashbuckling, the song is a wild ride through city life
Photo: Lauren Cremer | Words: Alexandra Dominica
Conceived in a fortuitous frenzy, during another winter of discontent, were three interstellar babes known as 'Alien Chicks'. Riding a new wave of post-Brexit post-punk, they are a trio of Duracell Bunnies carrying enough electric energy to rival a nuclear power plant. With sounds akin to Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest and Sleaford Mods, Alien Chicks have landed, delivering unto us an atomic new single, 'Cowboy'.
'Cowboy' takes the characteristic inner-city grit and realism of a post-punk song and contrasts it with the sort of delightfully disjointed inner monologue you might expect from a romantic poet. The group describe the track as an "amalgamation of a few riffs that were loitering in Joe's mind [singer and guitarist]". What seems to be looming in the corridors of Joe's psyche is in fact an impulsive restless rancher sipping on chicha moradas. There is an underlying loneliness here that is synonymous with metropolitan life: surrounded by chain restaurants, overstimulated, and pushed to the emotional brink. The bull-in-a-china-shop psychodrama that ensues ultimately implodes into the uncontrollable rhythmic wrangler that we hear. The marriage of soft verses and thrashing guitar sections together can result in cacophony but this is discordance done well. This lone ranger is a beast of a song that can only be tamed by a cowgirl companion, an abundance of second helpings and strong coffee in the morning.
The trio see the track as a deep dive into "regret, confusion, self blame and how these evils collude in taunting you through your dreams and subconscious." Poetic souls at heart, it is no surprise that they are witnessing a stratospheric rise in popularity. 'Cowboy' is the latest testament to their creativity, charisma and all-round good-natured humor. As the old line goes, a cowboy needs a horse, and a rope, and he oughta have a song if he wants to keep ridin' along.
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