Cozy - Button By Button LP

HoZac (2014)

I absolutely dragged my feet on writing this review.  HoZac sent this album to me quite a while ago.  They didn't send it to me in 2014, but I've probably had this close to a year.  Apologies for the delay, although I am still curious why they chose to send me this one random record from their back catalog.

Anyway, I did go into Button By Button with some trepidation based on the artwork.  I mean, look at those haircuts.  Luckily the album isn't as bad as the hairstyles would indicate, but it also isn't particularly great either.  Cozy has churned out the very definition of a middle of the road power pop album.  It has the sneering vocals and tight chord progressions you'd expect.  It even has some solid hooks and choruses.

Where the album is lacking is in originality and energy.  I never feel like the band is really firing on all cylinders.  They can't capture the magic that a band like Barreracudas is able to.  On the other side of the spectrum, they never hit the polish or smoothness of a band like The Knack.  Cozy is treading a middle ground and their album is totally fine, it just never really exceeds that mark.  Ultimately it's decent enough background music, but not really something I'd go out of my way to listen to.

Cozy - Button By Button:

https://ilovecozy.bandcamp.com/album/button-by-button

Made In Japan - Instant Hit 7"

HoZac (2016)

Another 7" from the random pack of records HoZac sent me to review.  I know that HoZac has been doing quite a few of these archival releases the last few years.  I've admitted it before and I'll repeat myself now, I've never been all that interested in the power pop scene from the late 70's and early 80's.  Not that I haven't heard plenty of good songs from that era, but it's just not something I get as excited about as a lot of others do.

With that said, the two songs on this Made In Japan 7" are pretty good.  Both are strong, catchy slices of power pop.  I don't think there's anything all that remarkable about either song, but they are both easy listens.  "Instant Hit" reminds me a bit of "Jesse's Girl," though a thousand times less cheesy. "You Never Had It So Good" on the flip side is actually my preference.  With its frantic chorus and bouncy bass lines it definitely gets my head nodding.

The issue I have with this 7", and also with a lot of records from this era, is that the recording quality is a bit muffled and stuffy.  I am not dumb, I realize that this was recorded in a completely different era, especially for punk bands, but it's just one of those things that always seems to jump out at me.  At the end of the day, it's a good enough little 7".  I'm not sure I would have bought it, but I'll be keeping it in the collection.

Made In Japan - "Instant Hit:

https://soundcloud.com/hozac-records/made-in-japan-instant-hit

Made In Japan - "You Never Had It So Good":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFeZNqvsN0o

Heavy Times - Black Sunglasses 7"

HoZac (2016)

After I wasn't really feeling the last 7" that Heavy Times released on Randy records, I decided to be a bit more judicious next time they had a record available to purchase.  I intended to try it out before blindly leaping into the next release as it is obvious the band is in the midst of a direction change.  However, since HoZac decided to send me a copy of this new 7" for review, they kind of made the decision for me, so here we go.

Starting off, you kind of feel like this band has been taken over by robots to some extent.  Opening track "Black Sunglasses," like much of their last 7", is single focused in its new wave, pseudo electronic delivery.  In particular, the vocals are completely monotone and devoid of emotion.  It seems intentional, but I kind of miss the chaos of their earlier records.  "City Lights" kind of follows the same path, pretty robotic and not really my thing.

Expecting more of the same, I flipped over to the B side but found a nice surprise waiting for me instead.  "Bad Brother" is very much a rocker, with catchy guitar riffs and the sort of camouflaged pop that I've always loved from Heavy Times. The good times continue with the final entry "Choked Up."  This is also a great song that's the most upbeat and hooky of the bunch.  There's some really cool dueling guitar interplay and the vocals are by far the most melodic.

All in all, this 7" is kind of a mixed bag.  I don't really dig either A side song very much, but the B side is back to back hits.  It's an interesting mix and I'm curious to see which direction Heavy Times heads in next.

Heavy Times - "Black Sunglasses":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q84Nqse1u64

Heavy Times - "Choked Up":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrpfI8BAHEo

Winter Bear - Jump In The Fire 7"

Hozac (2013)

A little bit ago I got a package in the mail from Hozac, which was interesting as I hadn't placed an order with them recently.  Imagine my surprise to find out they had sent me a stack or records to review.  It wasn't the most recent batch of releases they've put out, but a cross section of records that they've released over a last few years.  I'm certainly game for that, so the first I'll tackle is Winter Bear.

Something that struck me as kind of funny is that as soon as I saw this record, I had an idea of what I thought it would sound like already in my head, and it turns out I was exactly right.  I don't think that is because I'm some sort of savant or anything, but I think it speaks more to how Winter Bear just has an aesthetic down for all aspects of their music, including the artwork. I dig the artwork and I dig the two songs.

I feel like eventually someone is going to hunt me down and beat me in the head for continually comparing bands to Baby Shakes, but I really feel that they are my touchstone for the sort of high energy, 60's throwback, female fronted bands that I tend to enjoy the most.  Winter Bear has this in spades from the lightly fuzzed out guitar, upbeat rhythm section and the well placed "shoo-wah-wah" in the A-side "Jump in the Fire." B-side "Should I Leave" is just as strong.  It has a slightly more jangly guitar sound, but captures the same sort of magic in the vocals.

This record came out back in 2013, and it looks like Winter Bear only put out one other 7" since then.  I'll probably pick that up at some point as this record is so good.  I'm not sure if Winter Bear is still kicking around, but I hope they are, this is pretty great stuff.

Winter Bear - Jump In The Fire 7":

https://winterbear.bandcamp.com/album/jump-in-the-fire-single