Not their signature sound, but still unmistakably them.
When you hear that this band was credited as one of the founders of the lounge music revival and then listen to this album, you may be left scratching your head. While opener "Miss Maple" does sort of sound like a loungey garage band, it is decidedly more garage. When the instrumental title track follows it up, shambling and crunching its way about, you will completely understand the self-appointed 'garage jazz band' tag. Although this is the band's first proper album, they had been releasing records for nearly six years before this. And while the majority of their discography doesn't sound like this, it is perhaps their most representative work. The few songs that Archer takes lead vocals on really point the direction to his solo material and they are a fantastic preview (especially on "And You Could"). You can hear shades of everything they had or would do in this album: from crunchy instrumental jazz rock to pure guitar pop to loungey kitsch pop to psuedo-Wire sounding scratchy guitar pop punk, it's all here. Because of this, it comes off, like much of their recorded material, as scattered and like the band is trying to do too much at once. However, they are so competent and excited about all the styles and sounds they are tackling that the record never becomes overwhelming. It's a very eclectic affair, to say the least. And it's just a really fun record.
~Austin
A dreamy cascade of guitar instrumentals and forlorn subdued pop.
Their least representative, least understood, most critically panned album was also their last. At the time, it was thought to be a daft and mopey ending to the career of a band that was known for their jubilant sound. And indeed, it points very heavily towards the lush, layered, sort of melancholy and emotional weighty material that Archer Prewitt would make his specialty on his own albums. A lot of the vocals here are so hushed that you probably won't even notice that they're there at all. Truly, the entire record is a wash of melodic, dreamy guitar orchestras, sprinkled with sporadic keyboards, woodwinds and vibraphones. It is at once the band's most unique, experimental and esoteric work. There's not a whole lot that sounds like it, save for a couple moments that recall Neil Young's introspective guitar workouts. All in all, it's a seriously meditative piece of work that is perfect for stargazing late summer nights. Except for "Cast Stones", which sounds nothing like anything else on the record and greatly disrupts the flow. I mean, seriously guys, what the hell? Besides that one slight misstep, this is one of the most cohesive and just flat out pretty albums I've ever heard. Maybe not a good starting place, as it captures the band at their most expansive and least charismatic, but a record that should be heard nonetheless. Awesome.
~Austin
Career spanning hits n'rarities box. Incomplete, but a commendable effort.
Any attempt to fully represent the Coctails in one collection is destined to fail. Because the band was so all over the place, it makes a listener wonder whether or not they ever really had a signature sound. This does repeat some tracks from their proper albums, but it tends to focus more on their early years and more obscure material, perhaps trying —in vain, but commendably— to give the full picture of the band. It does make available their last EP, and self-titled album complementary piece, Hello Records at the very beginning of disc one, which is a very nice thing. The only big flaw about this box set is, in its attempt to play up the band's loungey demeanor, it focuses a bit too heavily on their kitschy jazz side. Not that it's their bad side —they didn't really have one— it's just that it was one aspect of many. What's chosen to represent this side of the band is fantastic, in any case. Indeed, their cover of Sun Ra's "Lights of a Satellite" isn't just convincing, it's absolutely mesmerizing. Disc two goes the furthest to prove the band's kitschy image was genuine. They play loungey, 50's and 60's-obsessed mostly instrumental jams that would sound right at home on some bachelor pad stereo. Disc three is perhaps the most interesting because it does a convincing job of representing the band as a serious and competent jazz combo —which they were. It is the most demanding of the collection's three discs, but also the most engaging and rewarding. True, not all of the music contained on this box set is great upon repeated listens, but it provides enough rarities and highlights to make it a fully interesting, and more often than not, fun listen every time. Brilliantly packaged and annotated, it's hard for me to say that this is all the Coctails material you need, but I could see how someone could make a fine argument in that direction.
~Austin
