How Now So Cow?

It looks like Erlend Øye may have to concede his "Whitest Boy Alive" title to similarly bespectacled Irish fun-strummer Brian Kelly of So Cow notoriety. The Twee Titan of Tuam, as Kelly has come to be known throughout neighboring Cloonfad, Kilconly and some parts of Abbeyknockmoy, has been winning the hearts of TV Personalities fans well beyond County Galway since last March when Chicago label Tic Tac Totally issued the So Cow LP – an 18-track compilation drawn from various singles and CD-Rs released on Kelly's own Covert Bear Records imprint while secretly stationed in Seoul, South Korea. Gushing praise ensued from Pitchfork and cardigan-wearing bloggers who had never heard anything by Stephen Pastel, much less Hue Williams, and soon after So Cow would tour North America to teary acclaim.
Although I wasn't nearly as smitten with the ramshackle romance of So Cow, the two covers collections that Kelly recorded alternately in his garage (download here) and living room (available here) won me over. What can I say, I'm a sucker for covers of obscure Go-Betweens singles. 
To coincide with So Cow's triumphant return which brings Kelly and company to Rancho Relaxo (300 College) with Useless Eaters, Street Meat and First Base on Sunday (February 21) and to Hamilton's Casbah Lounge (306 King West) on Monday (February 22), Tic Tac Totally is releasing So Cow's much anticipated follow-up Meaningless Friendly LP and CD (with three bonus tracks) on February 16. In the meantime, you can enjoy this So Cow live performance at WFMU-FM from last year right here.
 

Meaningless Friendly (Tic Tac Totally)
01. Start Over 2:13
02. Shut Eye 3:59
03. International Waters 7:22
04. Dunno 2:09
05. The Tony Keady Affair 2:35
06. Limboat 2:30
07. Mokpo 1:37
08. Girl Racer 2:24
09. Away Leg 0:53
10. (I’ve Got A) Horrible Feeling 2:11
11. Hell 2:17
12. Random Girls 3:08
13. Bit Late For That Now, Innit 2:09
14. Ain’t No Fun 3:19*
15. Laughing Disaster 1:25*
16. Hiding In The Bathroom 2:26*
* CD bonus tracks also available as a limited 7" EP with purchase of the LP
directly from Tic Tac Totally
LINKS
myspace http://www.myspace.com/socow
site  http://iamsocow.com
label http://www.tictactotally.com