Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Cuckoo Canoe & Why We Never Judge a Book By Its Cover

It didn't help that the best freebie I have heard in a long time was handed to me in the middle of my Dexter binge two days ago. Dexter, for those of you out of the loop, is American Psycho television and one of the highest rated shows at Metacritic from this past fall season. It has everything I love: dark humor, subversive themes, great writing and sharp direction. Plotline: serial killer by night, forensic blood analyst for the Miami Police by day. Bottom line: I consumed the whole season in two days. It is phenomenal in the sickest possible way. Without straying too far from the purpose of this post, watch an episode of Dexter as fast as humanly possible.

As I was saying, I was knee-deep in the aforementioned psychological black comedy thrill ride when the First Lady handed me an unmarked package from an unidentified name at an apartment in Brooklyn. Timing is everything. Without opening and fearing I am about to get cut the fuck up by the Ice Truck Killer, I call JK and ask if he corresponded with anyone lately about sending us some music (JK is better about the e-mails than I). He had nothing for me, so I put on some latex gloves, put my shirt over my nose and opened the package. The cover of the CD has a couple of kids holding hands as they fly on lemons in the clouds. I'm thinking it is a Cloud Cult promotional CD. I almost shit my pants. I open it up and it says Cuckoo Canoe - Basketball Freedom Overdrive. Oh boy. Not a good start. But, never, never judge a book by its cover.

The next day I am driving into work and I throw the CD into the Silver Bullet. 4 tracks in and I love it. I can't keep myself from throwing "Aderol" and "Alaska Wolf Slay" on repeat. These guys are going to get endless comparisons to The Strokes and it isn't because of their NYC home, it is because they have some ferocious hooks in their songs. I'm still working towards the second half of the CD and trying to figure out more about these guys, but for now just listen to these tracks. Beast.

UPDATE: The "Country" label (next to "Rock and "Grunge") on their MySpace page isn't a misnomer. There some hints of country in here, and its a departure from what makes "Aderol", "Alaska Wolf Slay" and "Coat Me Mister" great, but its solid. The majority of the second half of the CD doesn't pack the whallop of the first half, but its good. The vocals still have Julian Casablancas written all over them. For me, that's a good thing.

MP3: Cuckoo Canoe - "Aderol"
MP3: Cuckoo Canoe - "Alaska Wolf Slay"