German indie rockers
Cosmic Casino
belong to no easily identifiable scene. Their debut album,
Be Kind and Be Cause
, consists of 13 manic
guitar pop
tunes with quirky lyrics ("A cornflake is not an elephant"?) and pogo-riffic
pop
-
punk
melodies. Early
Supergrass
is an easy touchstone, but songs like the sparse, tense
"Postcard from the Moon"
and the churning closer
"Go On to Greater Things"
also suggest a vaguely psychedelic bent akin to their Norwegian labelmates
Motorpsycho
or the Swedish pomp-rockers
the Soundtrack of Our Lives
.
is refreshingly idiosyncratic, but the band's two most appealing elements,
Thomas Hoenig
's hyperactive, choppy guitar style and
Richard Goerlich
's lightly accented, tightly wound vocals, make
easily accessible regardless. ~ Stewart Mason