the cumshots just quit trying

Released: 18 May 2009 Label: SPV

The Cumshots are a bit of a strange band to categorise, they have been tagged with the label of ‘Death ‘n’ Roll’, which isn’t particularly descriptive but gives you a rough idea of what to expect. Just Quit Trying seems to be a bit of a mish-mash of styles, sometimes reminiscent of Entombed (when they began to write more upbeat music) along with some thrashier elements and then at times a bit of punk thrown in to the mix.

This mixture of styles doesn’t really gel together in an album format, the songs would probably work better on their own as the general mixture of styles seems a bit confused. The overall production of the album is however very good, it sounds kind of dirty and unpolished so when there are the groovier or thrashier sections it does sound pretty good. Max Cargo’s vocals are quite growly on the whole, however he unfortunately ventures into Cookie Monster territory at points!!

The Cumshots are definitely a band that is more of an acquired taste but has had great success in their native Norway (Grammy nominations included!). So, if you like something that is a bit different from the norm it is probably worth giving this release a go, as you won’t know until you try it!

by Claudia Glazzard