Mo'Some Tonebender have been on the J-rock scene for a while, always rather on the outside looking in when it comes to sales and recognition. It's partly understandable, because the group seems hell-bent on defying all the unwritten laws of the Japanese music world, where genre-hopping is not favored and bands should be easy to peg. But it's also regrettable, because Mo'Some Tonebender are one hugely talented band, able to work with various styles and not lose direction. C.O.W. is a pleasant and mildly demented hodgepodge of synth pop keyboard lines, heavy metal riffs, Sonic Youth-styled textures and techno beats -- and it works, even if it obviously can't be 100-percent successful. As expected, the whole thing is held together by irony, demonstrated by the very fact that the same band can do sunny pop tracks (Lululu) or channel the spirit of the '80s plastic pop (Party wa Tsuzuku Yo) and rock out like Hüsker Dü on a very angry day (incidentally, even the sunniest pop from Mo'Some Tonebender is often drenched in fuzzy alt-rock noise, and Party wa Tsuzuku Yo is a great and moving semi-ballad). The genre swings and never abates, and pinpointing the album's exact sound is like herding cats, but between the abrasive alt-rock, dance-prone indie pop (indie disco?) and Daft Punk-gone-metal, C.O.W. never sounds lost. Moving between the styles (and doing this competently, of course) is a hallmark of a high-class band, but to do it with such ease and grace is even more impressive. Mo'Some Tonebender may not have achieved huge chart success, but at least they get filed under Japan's best hidden secrets, together with Fullarmor, who also do the similar thing, only more laconically and without the vocals. ~ Alexey Eremenko, Rovi

1		Introduction
2		Bad Summer Day Blues
3		Interlude #1
4		L.O.V.E.
5		Lululu
6		Party Wa Tsuzuku Yo
7		Young Lust
8		Interlude #2
9		Angel Rosie
10		Lost in the City
11		Perfect
12		Harahire
13		18
14		Slow Play

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