Cool Ghouls
Animal Races
By: Julia Cirignano
Pat Thomas, Ryan Wong, Pat McDonald, and Alex Fleshman are Cool Ghouls. The band’s sophomore release, Animal Races, consists of 11 tracks and one slightly pornographic album cover in which Adam and Eve seem to be playing tennis under God’s watchful eye (personal interpretation).
With weighty bass lines, and chaotic guitar solos, Cool Ghouls embraces the turbulence and selective randomness of rock ‘n rock. Their music has a ’60s air to it, yet they don’t seem to bring anything new to the table. They also seem to be hiding the true meaning of their lyrics in a purposeful way. While some artists successfully do this, Cool Ghouls’ lyrics come across as confusing instead of artistic. Their music is of good quality, set it doesn’t stop me in my tracks like I wish it had.
While Cool Ghouls is epic in a traditional rock type of way, I wish the sound and lyrics pushed more limits and asked questions as much as their album cover does. The vocals are lost beneath the chaotic instruments as they pick around at common melodies. Cool Ghouls’ songs seem flat–without much rise and fall to keep their listeners attention. It seems that this album is more a symbol of their appreciation for music instead of a unique collection of Cool Ghouls original songs.
Rating: Listenable
