The List (Single of the week)
Scottish loons Cuddly Shark, who win Single of the Week with their stupendously and effortlessly cool ‘The Sheriff of Aspen Bay’ (Armellodie). Chock full of choice swearing, manic shrieking, offbeat chug-a-lug riffing, time changes, Led Zep baiting and much more, the Elgin-born and Glasgow-based trio are clearly a band with issues, and all the better for that. (5 stars)
Doug Johnstone

Subba-Cultcha (single of the month)
More devastating than the Futureheads at their most brutal, Cuddly Shark are unhinged, exciting and best of all they match McClusky when it comes to manic vocal delivery – something we like very much here at subba towers – art-school rock to soundtrack giving the maths teacher a wedgie!

Die Shellsuit Die
This band is a breath of fresh air from a pissed-up dragon. They seem to manage that most desired of effects in audiences of ‘I don’t really care, this is fucking excellent’. Yet again, a band has managed to pull something wonderful from the flyblown corpse of electric guitar-driven music. They even shout and stomp all over Neil Diamond without sounding shite. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, they’ve got it. Long may they retain it, ‘ken.
Palmer Eldritch

Get Ready To Rock
Trust me, there’s nothing cuddly about Glasgow’s finest art-school punks Cuddly Shark.
More musically accomplished than their genre forefathers, the three piece Colin Reid (guitar and vocals), Ruth Forsyth (bass and vocals) and Jason Sinclair (drums and vocals), nevertheless have all the vibrancy and immediacy of a bag of angry wasps.
Think The Sex Pistols meet Biffy Clyro and throw a few Zeppelin riffs into the chaos and you won’t be far wide of the mark. The two exclusive b-sides – the folksy Cuddly Jim, and Neil Diamond’s Cherry Cherry demonstrate the band’s dexterity.
But overall it’s hard not to be impressed by the band’s boundless gusto.
***
Pete Whalley

Playing Out Loud
Boistrous punk from Scotland’s two-boys-and-a-girl outfit rapidly making a name for themselves south of the border. A short sharp guitar thrash which is not to everyone’s taste but might ring some bells with anyone who like me, has the odd Alternative TV single stashed away in their collection. The cover of Neil Diamond’s Cherry Cherry is silly but fun while the mandolin-laden Cuddly Jim shows the band have, literally, more strings to their bow. Cuddly Shark’s reputation will no doubt continue to swell.
Martin Sirl

www.manchestermusic.co.uk
From Glasgow, Cuddly Shark have one of those daft names that makes it hard to figure if you should take them seriously or not. They are a pretty traditional punk / indie band with plenty of American references. With that out of the way, there is a bass line that sounds like it’s being played on suspension bridge cables and a vocal that spits out every syllable alongside some suitably impressive jerky rhythms and very loud guitar work. It works – I think it reminds me of a heavy Jarcrew moshed up in some Seattle punk. They then go on to cover Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry” with acoustic guitars and Mandolins. Random or what?
MMM
Poppy DuBois

Is This Music?
There is a seething snarl at the heart of this music which immediately tells you that these guys mean business. Riffs and violence thus abound. Sharks, by definition, are not cuddly. This one’s no exception.
This, in lesser hands, might have made for a record that was all bluster and no substance but what saves it from being so is the thin thread of coyness that works its way between the grooves here. Metallic melodies and riffs fire out and hit you in the gut.
This isn’t sublet music and nor should it be either, for these are not sublet times in which we live. One gets the impression Cuddly Shark’s material works best in short, sharp bursts.
This is no bad thing – a short sharp burst of rock music like this is just what one needs to get the heart going. They may be only “sheriffs” but these guys truly are the law.
????
Jonathan Muirhead

Music-News.com
There’s more than a hint of the Pistols about The Sheriff of Aspen Bay, but there’s also smidgen early AC/DC, and more traditional hard rock bunged in. All rolled up together, and Cuddly Shark have come up with a ballbreaker of a punk song, that just shreds. There’s also a dig at that old punk punch-bag Led Zeppelin, that hopefully wont cost them their royalties.
Of the other tracks, Cherry Cherry is an interesting cover of the Neil Diamond song, that’s both respectful, but gives it a kick in the right places too. Cuddly Jim is a more folk orientated track and amply demonstrates the band versatility.
Paul Chapinal

Room Thirteen
Scottish trio Cuddly Shark has an old school hardcore punk sound seeping from every chord on much of this new single, there is a fuzzy Dischord-ish raw abandon on ‘The Sheriff Of Aspen Bay’ but filtered through a really great melody; catchy and touching and with absolutely no ‘art-punk’ pretention. The track rocks pretty hard, it’s really heavy, direct and raw but that tuneful edge makes it instantly likeable. ‘Cherry Cherry’ is a Neil Diamond cover and works remarkably well, the band really put their own spin on the tune, ramping it up and putting a fuzzy layer over everything. ‘Cuddly Jim’ is a sweet little folk tune with acoustic guitar and a lovely vocal, the melody really resonates and stays with you. Three excellent tracks from a great new band we’ll be looking out for more from in the future.
Emma Gould

Alt-Sounds.com
Sweet tasty Lord Jesus this is absolutely bonkers and brilliant. 100% in your face grab you by the jugular brilliant, thrashed and hoarse Cuddly Shark deliver an absolute gem of a follow up to their equally brilliant single ‘Woody Woodpecker’.
‘The Sheriff Of Aspen Bay’ screams like me, like me, I’m massive and shouty, and I have sweary bad words within me, and I’m slightly illegible like all good Scottish music, but most importantly I’m the sort of song that will get absolutely wasted, stick my pants on my head then run around trying to kiss every girl in the room shouting “feckin’ dae sumthin” as is the tracks customary tagline.
Telling the tale of a man’s conquest for the girl he desires which involves the stalking pursuit phase as you try to win her over with a box of Celebrations. Then of course the phase where you are spurned and resort to hateful love before crossing the line and becoming an unavoidable devil who steals clothing off washing lines. To tell this tale Cuddly Shark have employed the tactic of playing all instruments as hard, fast, and loud as possible whilst shouting over the top and well, you know how this works it’s attention grabbing.
A worthy mention must go to the blatant steal / homage to Led Zeppelin that is genius, I won’t spoil it just get the track and hear it for yourself. An absolute hardcore rampaging gem of a single.
Mark Stevenson

Tastyfanzine.org.uk
In a month of pretty mundane EPs to review, I’ve been looking forward to listening to this single and the Elgin-raised punksters have not let me down. More of a straight forward punk track than predecessors ‘Bowl of Cherries’ and ‘Woody Woodpecker’, ‘The Sheriff…’ sees Cuddly Shark take on almost Weezer or early Green Day levels of excellence. And even then when you think this is a pretty decent 2 minute punk track the trademark guitar change-ups and chopping arounds kick off. So as to prove they are not one-trick ponies, the superb folksy ‘Cuddly Jim’ sees a previously unseen sensitive side to the band. Trés bien.

Organ Magazine
Exploding out of Glasgow again with another ball of messed up attitude and some lonely lonely lonely punked-up Zeppelin puns. Just over two minutes of shouty in your face and taking the phone and art-school punks so they say, we’ll forgive them that, never trust anyone who went to art school. Two thirds masculine, one third feminine, originally from the Highlands and a damn cool Neil Diamond cover (Cherry Cherry) on the b-side that almost threatens to rival Killdozer’s cover of I Am I Said. They’re not all noise and bluster though, not just attitude and energy and shouting “Feckin’ dae Summin” (which were told in English translates to “please do something”). They’ve got some delicate songs in there with their bits of Husker Du, Fugazi, Buzzcocks and Weezer all being thrown up the stairs at the same time… Like we said last time around, they’re good, kiss the big cuddly shark… nothing ugly here.