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Street Dogs - State of Grace

They used to be Cooter.

They also used to be not that good.

With the name change comes a kickass new sound, apparently.

I have all of Cooter's old stuff, and while it was enjoyable to listen to at the time, none of it was very memorable, and I have no desire to dig their CDs out of the boxes in my room.

This, on the other hand, has been in constant rotation in my CD player in the past month.

First and foremost, the production is top notch - from the opening chords of standout track "Long Way To Fall" to the closing feedback of "Wide Awake," the album sounds crisp and fresh. The major label backing has definitely paid off in that department.

The guitar interplay is pretty advanced for a band of this style - a lot of it is just trading barre chords in different frets, but it sounds *cool* doing it. The vocal harmonies are neat, too, but the downside to that is that singer Chris is just that - the only singer. So live, kiss those harmonies bye-bye.

Sure, the band's sound still ain't the most original sound in the world, but this EP is way more than a step in the right direction. These songs are catchy as hell punk rock. I wouldn't label it pop punk, or skate punk, or emo punk, or anything besides just good old punk rock. This is the EP you want to have blaring out of your car stereo driving down the highway to a show. I think I need to go dig out my old Cooter CDs to really make sure that they weren't this good all along and were just hiding it from me...

Sample the EP here



People who liked this also liked:
Rise Against - Revolutions Per MinuteRx Bandits - The ResignationLess Than Jake - Hello RockviewStrike Anywhere - Change Is A SoundThe Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldRise Against - The Sufferer & the WitnessThe Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!Autopilot Off - Make A SoundMillencolin - Pennybridge PioneersBoy Sets Fire - After the Eulogy



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    Posted by Rocktopus on 2007-10-28 05:17:16

    Fuck. I still listen to this. One of my favourite ep's.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 23, 2006 at 9:51 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I love this band!!!! fuck you all that think it sucks!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 5:45 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    these guys are awsum. the album is great one of my favorites. nothing frequency is a current favorite of mine. sucks that there is only five tracks tho. havent seen the guys live...but i will!! determined!!
    -emma-

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at 2:44 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i don't have a band so they aren't doing good or bad.

    that still doesn't change the fact that they suck live. i didn't realize you had to be in a band to criticize music. jackass.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at 1:47 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    this new ep is terrible. this band has lost their raw edge. i hate the way the vocals sound on this record as well. check out looking up and the split w/ slick shoes instead.

    Posted by housewrecker on 2002-07-08 16:37:09
    My Score:

    These guys are awesome. Whoever said they suck live - how the fuck is your band doing right now? They're tight as nails and super-nice guys to boot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 8, 2002 at 4:11 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    this ep is fucking awesome, and you can't think they didn't rock as cooter, cause they did the song spring training, which is still one of my favorite songs by them, it's been a great opener when i've seen 'em live

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 1, 2002 at 6:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i saw these guys live and they were pretty fucking boring. the guys seemed nice though, i talked to the singer a little bit after their set.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 1, 2002 at 4:01 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    these guys are solid, but nothing really separates them from the other heap of new school style pop punk bands. the lyrics arent great, chris' voice isnt anything phenomenal, musically they arent to different either. 'missing the innocense' and 'someting for everyone' were solid off the last album, and this one has a few good tracks, but overall they're kind of forgettable. if u want catchy harmonies u might as well listen to midtown or brand new. i would recommend about a dozen poppunk bands b4 this one. their dull live too, although my friend who booked em once said their the nicest guys ever. its like the starting line (nfg clone) or the stryder(saves the day clone) or any other heap of random poppunk bands out there.tiny variations on a sound thats all to familiar, not necessarily a bad sound, but its being run into the ground.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, June 30, 2002 at 8:57 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i hate this band. generic pop-punk.

    Posted by RocksMySox on 2002-06-30 11:09:31
    My Score:

    This band rocks now as much as they did under Cooter. No change. Their LP on Fastmusic is incredible and so it this EP. I believe they are signed to Island now.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 29, 2002 at 11:41 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i saw these guys open for h2o and they fucking sucked. they couldn't get the crowd to move at all and everyone was glad when it was over.

    Posted by Eddie on 2002-06-29 19:14:17
    My Score:

    Yeah, this band is a really cool. I only know a few of their songs (they've been on a lot of comps lately), though. Mabye I'll get the album someday.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 29, 2002 at 5:26 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This isn't that good. Don't be fooled, Brand New sucks as well.

    Posted by westsidepunk on 2002-06-29 16:45:35
    My Score:

    I thought this EP was coming out on Side One Dummy or Fueled by Ramen or something. Is Island actually releasing this before the full length?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 29, 2002 at 4:10 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    He said it right. This EP is awesome.

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