There are a few reference points for the
1990s debut album that you need to forget right away. It doesn't matter that
Bernard Butler produced, or that two of the band's members were in a band with the drummer from
Franz Ferdinand. It does matter that the band in question was
Yummy Fur because if you were a fan of their off-kilter and jagged brand of post-punky pop, you'll like
Cookies. Of course that covers a couple hundred people at best, so let's say if you're a fan of off-kilter, spunky and often laugh-out-loud hilarious post-punk influenced pop that ropes in the best elements of
Art Brut,
the Libertines,
Comet Gain and
the B-52's, then there's a good chance you'll fall for the
1990s in a big way. Indeed, there is much to like about
Cookies:
Jackie McKeown has a perfect yelping voice to pull off the sarcastic, knowing and sassy lyrical pose, the band is tight and raw but able to rein things in on funky tunes like "Arcade Precinct," and
Butler keeps things quite simple and gets a remarkably punchy sound out of the trio. The only possible downfall to the album's success is the mood of the listener -- if you aren't in the mood for goofy, silly rock & roll with no depth or greater meaning, you might want to hurl the record through the nearest window right around the mid-point of "Enjoying Myself" when the lyrics "I would not like to play chess with a man in a vest/unless he was wearing a Stetson" come fluttering through the speakers. If reading that couplet made you think of
Dr. Seuss on cough syrup and made you chuckle, then
Cookies might be for you.