Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band - Invincible Blues 7"

Pig Baby (2017)

This is the second Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band record I've reviewed and man, I like this one even more than the first.  Maybe I just don't know where to look, but it sure seems like the west coast has way cooler bands than anything I can find here in New Jersey.  Though admittedly, I've kind of always felt like that.  New Jersey has never really been a hotbed of local bands that ever really jumper out at me (most of the local-ish bands I liked the most tended to be from PA.)

Anyway, back to Sir Coyler.  A side "Invincible Blues" is a stone cold smash of garage-y energy.  The song is built on this excellent guitar riff that pops in and out of the song accentuating each verse and transition.  It's the sort of riff that gets stuck in your head for years and makes you try to think of ways to steal it without anyone else noticing.  

The B side "Pink & Blue" is more subdued, taking down the tempo and fervor, but adding in a bit more melody.  It's a strong and catchy song, but I'll admit to enjoying the unchained energy of the A side a bit more.  Regardless of which song I prefer, both a quite good and seem to be a big leap forward from their last EP.  I know I'd like to hear more.

Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band - "Invincible Blues":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei7DWmcDRLw

Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band - Don't Shake CD

Five-Five Hole (2016)

This particular CD made its way to me, I think, primarily due to the fact that I've been active on Rocket From The Crypt message boards and listservs since the mid 90's.  Sir Coyler is one of the fellows that I've met along the way and it's always interesting to see the sort of music that folks you know create.  Luckily, I don't need to say nice things out of some sort of misplaced loyalty.  Don't Shake is a fun album that I would have been happy to review even if I didn't internet-know this guy.

There's a good mish mash of rock and roll styles throughout the course of this album.  Some songs have a a straight forward noisy garage sound like "S.L.V.M." or "Invisible Blues." Then you have others that lean more toward a borderline boogie feel such as  "Charades at the Condo."  There's even some cool surf moments like the instrumental "Sticky D's."  If you've got an itch, seems like Sir Coyler and his crew are happy to try to scratch it for you.

The songs that tend to stand out to me are the ones that lean on the poppier side of things and have those big hooks that I like, but the whole album is a fun ride from start to finish.  These guys are likely under the radar a bit, so they're worth digging for. Well, I'll dig for you:

Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band - Don't Shake:

https://five-fiveholerecords.bandcamp.com/album/dont-shake