Reviews – Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark

Cuddly Shark - Cuddly Shark

Bearded Magazine
http://www.dieshellsuit.co.uk/music/Cuddly-Shark-Cuddly-Shark-4195.htm
Every so often in an all too stagnant music scene, there comes a record which is more than just a breath of fresh air, but is more like being shot in the face by a fireman’s hose while screaming out a recital of ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’; and, to end 2009, Cuddly Shark have created that such record.

The Glaswegian three-piece are pretty much impossible to pigeon hole into a category with their music swaying from full throttle edgy punk, to slabs of country twang, with good helpings of gentle indie janglings and pop sensibilities, Cuddly Shark leaves no one out as the exciting twists and turns of the record leave you a gasp, uneasy, and wanting so much more.

Opening with a frenetic ‘Bowl Of Cherries’, Colin Reid barks into the faces of all who will listen, and especially to those who refuse to do so. Cuddly Shark seem to have remembered the power of the original two/three minute pop song, but have just shoved a rock’n’roll rocket up its arse. ‘Woody Woodpecker’ really encapsulates this, fastly building a gentle rhythm of foot tapping melodies, with witty and sing-along lyrics, combined with crashing guitars and screams of joy, it is ultimately faultless. But you could say that about any song on here from ‘Instru-Mentalist’ to the musical equivalent of crack cocaine, ‘Shakey Baby’.

Their Weezer-meets-Pixies-meets-Fugazi music practically holds no limits, as proven in their stupidly awesome cover of Hoyt Axeton’s ‘Boney Fingers’ which just seems to come out of nowhere, much like everything else on the album. You will not know what type of song will be next to charge out of the speakers, from the incredible slice of punk ‘The Sheriff Of Aspen Bay’, or the 52 second long ‘Jamie Foxx On Later With Jools Holland’ which simply contains the lyrics “I heard you sing the worst song I ever heard”, and promptly ends.

But these guys aren’t pretentious; they simply play and execute a joy in their music many seem to have forgotten about. It’s so simple, and yet so exciting. To put it straight forward, Cuddly Shark have reminded me why I love music.

Peter Clark

Die Shellsuit Die
http://www.dieshellsuit.co.uk/article_detail.asp?rID=4195
After casually tossing off two of the finest singles of this year in Woody Woodpecker and The Sheriff of Aspen Way, Cuddly Shark raised hopes for their debut long-player. I am more than happy to report that said album contains more high-quality, low-fidelity punches against the seemingly-endless tide of bland tripe most iTunes store zombies seem more than happy to fork out for. The band may have to pull the staples from such meaningless-muso labels as ‘indie’, ‘punk’ or ‘punk indie’, ‘indie punk’ or ‘Scottish’ but I’m sure this will only serve to sharpen their riffs and lyrical bile. And if a certain Mr. Holland had a genuine regard for new music then he would get them on his show based on track nine alone.
8/10

Subba-Cultcha.com
http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=10556
Some of Glasgow’s freshest faces release their debut album and it’s pretty spectacular…
Cuddly Shark, upon first listen, are one of the rarities a music journalist is given – a band you have never heard of that you actually want to keep listening to. Upon second, third and fourth listen my initial reaction is not wrong. Hailing from Glasgow, which has a very tried and test amazing music scene, Cuddly Shark are two boys and a wee bonnie lass, and they create brutal, solid rock n’ roll that is sometimes like Fugazi and sometimes like Weezer. And sometimes, it’s like nothing and no one else. But it is always good.

A particular highlight of the album, other than the simplistic but intriguing dynamics of it all, are the lyrics. One of my favourites off of the album ’12 Months’, has the vocalist (I don’t know which of the two blokes it is, I think both plus girl all sing) shout-singing “I need sex because I’m a perv” and “I stare at girls because I’m a perv” – there’s nothing quite like brutal honesty and self reflection. In fact, it usually makes for awesome song writing when done in a self degrading not-poetic-at-all way.

Another favourite of mine from the album is ‘Whiteoaks’, which is very reminiscent of Weezer having one of their inspired pop moments. In fact, imagine Weezer crossed with Pavement, but definitely with Rivers on vocals. The lovely melodies, the simplistic and catchy riffs topped with the sweet sounding vocals make a very good song indeed. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is ‘The Sheriff of Aspen Bay’ which is more brutish a la Fugazi and co than it is Weezer pop. ‘The Sheriff of Aspen Bay’ captures you in it’s frenzy, carries you on a torpedo ride – pausing slightly for a little break down section – and then carries right on and spits you out. In fact, the same could be said of the awesome ‘Bowl of Cherries’. However, they do meet in the middle and make this a very cohesive, well thought out album. Another personal favourite from the album, ‘Woody Woodpecker’, take the harsh elements as well as the pop sound and moulds the two together to make a near flawlessly executed piece of rock n roll.

All in all, Cuddly Shark’s self titled debut is very impressive indeed and they once again prove that the Scots (mostly) know how to make music.

17 Seconds
http://17seconds.co.uk/blog/2009/11/16/album-review-cuddly-shark/
Packing a mighty punch, Cuddly Shark follow-up their critically acclaimed singles with this wonderful debut album. Describing themselves as hillbilly rockers, the Glasgow-based three-piece have more in common with the likes of Le Reno Amps and Elvis Suicide than, say, the twee indie with which the city is still associated with. They also list Shellac as an influence, which I definitely hear as well. Yet it’s not about where their influences are from, it’s where they’re going that make this debut such a thrilling, exciting listen.

Right from the opening track ‘Bowl Of Cherries’ the album makes a powerful impression, as does their sense of humour.
One track, entitled ‘Jamie Foxx on Later With Jools Holland’ is fifty seconds long and states simply ‘I
heard you sing the worst song I ever heard.’ On Woody Woodpecker’ they casually breeze through more ideas in less than two muinutes than some bands do in an entire career.

It’s not all balls out rock’n’ roll (though see if you can spot the Led-Zep baiting though!), ‘Whiteoaks’ is more
wistful and acoustic yet still showcases a sound and song that is uniquely their own. And having given the album a blast through, you already find that you can’t cut it down to one or two highlights. They may have fled the bright lights of Elgin (as referred to in ‘The Punisher of IV30′) but this band are truly one of the most exciting bands in Scotland right now.

****
Ed

TastyFanzine
http://www.tastyfanzine.org.uk/albums92nov09.htm#CuddlyShark
I remember it well. We were 18 years old, just dabbling in Helmsman bitter from Spar for the first time (£1.58 for a four-pack – get in) and full of the misplaced enthusiasm and self confidence of youth. Off we headed to my dad’s garage armed with a guitar and practise amp, an ancient synth and a song book full of lyrics we had secretly written during maths lessons. Turns out we were shit – a complete lack of talent (plus using a set of garden spades as percussion) meant that the neighbours of LN7 6QR never had their eardrums mothered again. But I remember how it felt at the time and I remember thinking we had a million ideas if only we could spill them into something approaching coherent music.

Zip forward a few years and Cuddy Shark descend on us from the Highlands like a musical whirling dervish. And they’ve only bloody gone and encapsulated exactly that sound and feel we were trying to achieve back in the garage. I think Cuddly Shark are slightly underselling themselves as self proclaimed hillbilly rockers – you can certainly hear moments of hillbilly like the drums in ‘Mannybix’, the crazy bass line in ‘Woody Woodpecker’ and the cover version of ‘Boney Fingers’ but they are more than that. In a rapid fire succession you are hit by a variety of styles – Pixies, Weezer, Presidents of the USA to name but a few. But the underlying modus operandus here is that everything sounds so fresh, as though performed by a bunch of hyperactive teenies. It’s a brilliant achievement to maintain that level of youthful exuberance as you get older (I may be wrong but Cuddly Shark do look a little bit past their A-level years) but they have also managed to match it with some mean musicianship.

Apart from the 3 singles of which I am already unashamedly a massive fan, other personal highlights from this album include the 52 second slagging off of Jamie Foxx in ‘Jamie Foxx on Later With Jools Holland’ (which ingeniously doesn’t even mention the singer in the song itself but just repeats the mantra ‘I heard you sing the worst song I ever heard’. Then there’s the stompmongous outro track ‘Shakey Baby’ which mixes some lovely guitar/bass interludes with another signature vocal rant. Just when you think you’ve sussed the Shark ethos they throw in the beautiful Cuddly untitled secret song at the end of the album – against some of the other more whimsical subject matter on offer on the record, it’s a poignant, heartfelt way to finish.

So there you have it, a late contender for album of year. ‘When a man is tired of London he is tired of life’ wrote Samuel Johnson. So this is very much a case of if you are tired of Cuddly Shark then you are probably tired of music.
SB

Get Ready To Rock
http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2009/cuddly_shark.htm
The name will go some way to explaining what this Glasgow three piece are all about.
It’s the kid at school who’d smile at you one day and steal your lunch money the next. Opening track ‘Bowl of Cherries’ is as venomous as any opening track I’ve ever heard. This hardcore offering would have limbs flailing around the mosh pit of many a venue.
‘Woody Woodpecker’ starts off with an atmospherically arpeggiated riff before settling into some kind of rockabilly riff, bizarre and yet slightly infectious.
On third track ‘The Punisher of IV30′ frontman Callin’ Colin goes slightly schizophrenic..the result being a hybrid mix of Iggy Pop and Serj Tankian.
After a while, you begin to realise this is a band that aren’t afraid to experiment.
‘Mannybix’, and ‘Whiteoaks’ offer seemingly random time changes, moments of punk and country, in fact you name it, if it isn’t here, it probably doesn’t exist.
On cover song ‘Boney Fingers’, the mosh pit frenzy and flailing limbs soon gives way to yee hahs and line dancing ….no I’m not joking.
‘12 Months’ brings the ho down back down to earth, with a stop-starting chugging riff amidst rants of sexual abstinence.
Elsewhere on the album there is the pointless waste of 52 seconds that is ‘Jamie Foxx on Later with Jools Holland’, the gloriously upbeat ‘Instru-Mentalist’ and ‘The Sheriff of Aspen Bay’…a Led Zep style stomper.
Angry, fun and as unpredictable as being trapped in a lift with a ticking bomb. Cuddly Shark are as effortlessly cool as it gets.
****
Darren Coomber

The Line Of Best Fit
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2009/11/cuddly-shark-%E2%80%93-cuddly-shark/
Let’s see: the band’s name is Cuddly Shark, the self-titled album cover depicts a dog seemingly dying from either heatstroke or boredom (perhaps both) and there are song titles such as ‘The Punisher of IV30’ and ‘Instru-Mentalist.’ A cursory glance of the Glasgow trio suggests that Cuddly Shark isn’t to be taken too seriously, or at all. Never mind the name. Put all of that aside, though, because the lyrics top everything else. Take ‘What Goes Around,’ for example: “I threw away my dad, my daughter and brother/ The only way we talk is through our lawyers/ That’s the kind of shallow person I am/ What goes around comes around.” Or how about the cover of Hoyt Axton’s ‘Boney Fingers’ with the deliciously absurd chorus, “Work your fingers to the bone/ What do ya get?/ Boney fingers.” They didn’t write it, granted, but what other song could this band have chosen?

That said, ‘Woody Woodpecker’ suggests that the band isn’t solely interested in making you guffaw. The lyrics detail a failed relationship, with the narrator’s ex labeling him “a dick [he doesn’t] wanna be.” That would certainly point to the band wanting to be taken seriously, if only for a song or two. But then the song ends with, “Now you’re acting funny when you’re hanging with me/ Woody Woodpecker pecking on a tree/ standing in the kitchen going ‘peck peck peck peck peck peck.’ On one level, it’s silly. Yet, on another it’s quite brilliant – it’s a satirical take of how preposterous relationships can be, and, in the case of the endless stream of peck’s, how irritating a partner can be. This band, and its sense of humor, is smarter than it appears on the surface.

The song structures hint at intelligence, too. They range from front-loaded Zeppelin punkers like ‘The Sheriff of Aspen Bay’ and ‘Bowl of Cherries’ to acoustic, country-tinged numbers such as (the first half of) ‘Woodpecker’ and the aforementioned ‘Boney Fingers.’ Then there’s the pair of songs that don’t’ really fit in either category. That’s not to say they don’t belong on the record, it’s just that they’re different. ‘Whiteoaks’ is an indie pop tune which contains a melody that sounds like something Green Day would write if Billie Jo didn’t try to be so damn socially relevant all the time. The other song of the pair, ‘Shakey Baby,’ starts out as a straight-up indie rock track, then becomes a staccato-fueled rant before returning to its sideways guitar melody. It’s one of many seamless transitions the band makes that throw you off (in a good way) upon the first spin. The most ridiculous track (read: the most entertaining) is the fifty-one second ‘Jamie Foxx on Later With Jools Holland’ which finds the band banging on its instruments with a surge of hyper-determination while “I heard you sing the worst song I ever heard” – presumably aimed at Mr. Foxx – is repeated. While the song may be tongue-in-cheek, by the end it doesn’t matter because you’re convinced the lyric isn’t a personal opinion, but a scientific fact.

Admittedly, I know very little – that is, nothing – about Cuddly Shark’s hometown of Glasgow. Thus, I cannot with any intelligence comment on what effect the Glasgow music scene has on CS’s sound. Or, for that matter, if Glasgow even has a scene particular to it. However, what I can say is that, at least from an American perspective, the band isn’t following any current trend. Yes, it’s atavism but is thankfully not connected to the post-punk revival. The members of CS clearly worship ‘70s hard rock and punk, specifically Zep and the Pistols. Simply stated, the band wants its fans to remember when rock was fun. Remember fun? The effect of this is to give the album a throwback charm utterly refreshing in a way that revisiting Joy Division doesn’t..

The List
http://www.list.co.uk/article/21938-cuddly-shark-cuddly-shark/
Art school hillbillies is perhaps the finest description of a band we’ve heard all year and this vitriolic debut album from the Scottish trio live up to the claim, a disjointed mix of 50s rollers and 00s rockers barbed with general lyrical gnarliness.
3/5

Organ Magazine
http://www.organart.com/aaaalbums7.htm
Head pecking head peckers… peck peck peck… Messed up heads…. here to mess with your head…. There’s been a couple of gloriously in your face and urgently raw singles blistering at us already, here comes the album… Peck peck peck peck peck, Woody Wood Pecker pecking on a tree… That pecking song is a killer… and when they’re not pecking at your head with that pecking song then they’ve got some redneck countrified working fingers to the bone for yer, and they don’t care what you do about it, standing in the kitchen going peck peck peck peck… all the way from Alabama (or maybe the backstreets of Glasgow). Work your fingers to the bone, what d’ya get? Boney fingers… Got ‘em here typing to bone while head peckers peck… Where’s the review they yell! We’ve told you before about kissing big cuddly sharks…ugly, kiss ‘em, kiss the glorious ‘f’kers. Glasgow hilbilly rockers with a forthright plug in and play attitude and a bag load of devious songs ‘n wired riffs and grungy stomps on your toes punk rock steamrolling chaos while they yell in your face and peck some more… Peck and drill and yell with all that “idiosyncratic lyricism and odd anti-melodies” and deadly scurge-metal Jesus Lizzard Scissormen attacks… Lonely lonely lonely lonely… f’king say something, f’king say something – the bastard f’king foul-mouth bastard sons of that b’stard Malcolm f’king Tucker… peck peck peck… The carrot and stick aproach, first ram the carrot in, then follow it with the stick… And then they remember their Scottish highland Alabama hilbilly roots again. Most of it comes at you in a furious onslaught but hey, these headpeckers are no one trick ponies and they know how to cover a Hoyt Axeton song with a touch of style… And they get away with that lonely lonely Zeppelin baiting ‘cause they know they can and shake the baby, jelly baby, got me a syndrome… Brimming with attitude and the bastards know they’re good – they are, they got every right to be cocky about it… They got some Weezer in there, they got some Ween, some Mclusky, they can thrash about, they got a touch of Minor Threat, some early punky Nirvana, some strange comic book hero prowling the streets of Glasgow, some screaming out in constant joy, another bombshell of a song coming your way, they got loads of ‘em, hanging on to every word… proper punk rock, say something, you said you would… Carnage, and they sound like no one else but Cuddly Shark, they damn well rule and this is blistering carnage and pecking and barbed riffs and big hooks and peck peck peck peck peck scuzzy (post) punk f’kin’ rock punch-in-your-face guitar pop from Scotland. It came out yesterday, so we’re a day late, quit with yer pecking already! What goes around comes around. Love it, kiss the big cuddly shark.

Aye Tunes
http://ayetunes.blogspot.com/2009/11/album-review-cuddly-shark.html
First of all, Cuddly Shark is a brilliant name, therefor to pull off such a name, your band has to be pretty great too. Good thing that Cuddly Shark manage it then. I’ve had this album a few weeks, and it that time it’s had plenty of listens, but as is the way with me it has taken this long for me to get round to writing up a review.

Cuddly Shark caught my attention earlier this year with a trio of very promising singles, some tracks from them make a reappearance here on the album, so I was rather looking forwards to hearing this self titled debut album.

Right from the off the album grabs you and yells in your face, opening track Bowl of Cherries is all thrashy, shouty vocals and even – hurrah – hand claps. I’m a sucker for hand claps, ever since Kenickie released Come Out 2Nite.
From there on in the album is packed with fantastic riffs, razor sharp lyrics and most of all a massive sense of humour, at time the lyrics are so tongue in cheek it’s amazing anyone can actually sing them.
Influences are worn of sleeves, but Cuddly Shark have so many different influences that throwing them all together brings out something quite special.
It isn’t all manic riffs and shouted vocals either, the band switch things up often enough to keep things from getting stale, showing on Whiteoaks that they can be tender as well as tongue in cheek, and throwing in a cover of old country song Boney Fingers for good measure.

Along with all that this album contains both my favourite celebrity diss of the year with “Jamie Foxx on Later With Jools Holland”, and my favourite sweary moment of the year on last single “The Sheriff of Aspen Bay”.
AND there’s an old fashioned hidden track at the end.

Brilliant stuff quite frankly. Cuddly Shark are clearly having a fantastic time on this record, and so am I.
The album might not have been out for long, but it has already forced it’s way into my favourites of 2009.
Jim

The Beat Surrender
http://www.thebeatsurrender.co.uk/daily/recordbox/cuddly-shark/
I really do love Cuddly Shark, they have a slightly ramshackle way about their recording on the self titled debut album that leaves you wondering which side of the line they are walking on between, going into the studio with no idea about what they were going to produce / knowing exactly what they were doing in making it sound lo fi…either way it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Ok so it doesn’t all hang together either confortably or neatly, but that’s just something you’ll have to forgive of an album that jumps between the punk spirit of a track like The Sheriff Of Aspen Bay or the much more measured and leisurely Whiteoaks.

It’s good to see that early tracks like Bowl Of Cherries and Woody Woodpecker have both made it onto the album, but the highlight for me is actually a cover, with Boney Fingers going all Johnny Cash on us in style, with the wonderful lyrics “work your fingers to the bone, what do you get?….boney fingers”.

The Glasgow art punk/hillbilly/folk/indie poppers have done themselves proud with this release, it won’t be for everyone granted, but they can certainly be our little secret if you like!
Kev

The Music Magazine
http://www.themusicmagazine.co.uk/reviews/6651
After the initial laughs disappeared when I saw this group’s choice of band name, I thought I’d give it a go. Usually, the title of an artist gives absolutely nothing away as to how something will sound – though you can probably argue Napalm Death aren’t going soundtrack a circus when it comes to town.

Cutting straight to the point, I was under false pretences with this band. I was expecting some jolly sounding record with sunshine harmonies and happy lyrics. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so naive as instead, I was given a bundle of tracks that are unique to their own merit but don’t really excite. Other Glaswegian acts such as Glasvegas and Hudson Mohawke have captured a global audience. I can’t see Cuddly Shark doing that. Some quick digging seems them classed as hillbilly rockers: in the current musical climate, the world isn’t clambering for an act like this. Well to my knowledge at least. I could be living in a cocoon. But to me, something doesn’t quite click with the band and I don’t see them transferring on the global live scale.

At best, it’s something that could be shoved on in the corner of a pub or used as scrambled entertainment on Friday night. The riffs are endless and basic, vocals shouty and reminds me of stuff that didn’t quite sound like grunge or metal or punk or vaguely alternative. Instead it was caught in its own little patch bobbing around for someone to take it onboard. Even the artwork looks poor and unimaginative – a quick snap of a lazy looking dog and some hastily photoshopped detail. Still beats the band being snapped against the wall of a McDonalds looking moody. This record will sell for those interested in this sort of sound, however it won’t see them propelled in to their charts and taking drugs with celebrities. Back to the drawing board I think.
6/10
Matthew Laidlow