Cog – ‘Resonate’ (mp3)
I was gonna get on my soapbox and make some rant about the general state of the music “scene” and the scenesters and everyone’s love for dirty synths and all that kinda shit that pisses me off as a music fan because while everyone goes nuts for bands without bass players that believe Wham! was the best band of all time, there’s Australian bands like Cog that get overlooked.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of some of the cool kids’ bands, but when it comes to overall music brilliance and world-beating ability, it’s hard to look past Cog. They’re as good, if not better, than most of the bands that sell millions of albums overseas. They’ve constantly made amazing music ever since they started. In terms of the Sydney music scene, their residency at the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills is legendary – every Wednesday for three months they sold out the place, and they hadn’t even been together for a year! It helps that you’re playing music light years ahead of your peers, that your drummer is one of the best Australia has produced, and your live show is an phenominal tour-de-force.
So who are Cog exactly? Well, they’re a three piece from Bondi in Sydney, they were kicking around the Aussie scene for a couple of years and released two great but poorly recorded EPs called Just Visiting Part 1 & Just Visiting Part 2. Then in 2004 they jumped on a big ol’ jet airliner and travelled to Weed, California to record their amazing debut album The New Normal with producer Sylvia Massy-Shivy (Tool, R.E.M), which was released the following year It was the first time that Cog captured their massive live sound on a recording. The album shed some of the progressive rock/Tool comparisons Cog were generating, and it showcased a more mature and succinct act.
The band have also been quite political in the past – on one of their tours they screened the John Pilger documentary Breaking the Silence – The Truth and Lies on the War on Terror and much of their lyrical content deals with political issues. In their filmclip for ‘Run’, drummer Lucius Borich has “Bush, Howard, Blair Fuck Off” written on his drum kit and the filmclip itself was set in a detention centre to highlight the plight of refugees being detained by the Australian government. Check it out below!
A few quick notes to finish off – Justin Cotta of VAST fame was going to sing for the band. In 2003 Cog recorded a cover version of Leftfield’s ‘Open Up’ which opened them up (no pun intended) to a national audience. The band are about to go back to Weed to record their second album. They are planning on touring North America in February. They are touring Australia right now. Cog are the most promising act in Australia. Go!
http://www.cog.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomcog
October 10, 2006 12:04 pm
cog are without question at the top of australian heavy music.
i couldnt even think of anyone who comes close… shihad maybe but they are brews from nz.
October 10, 2006 12:16 pm
Post more COG! People need to hear this stuff.
The best Australian album of the last couple of years in my opinion, not to mention the best gig I’ve ever seen. Just incredibly loud and a crushingly dense sound from a very talented three-piece. While the album is brilliant, it really doesn’t do justice to their live shows. I’ll be interested to hear some of their new stuff, supposedly the new album comes out early/mid 2007.
October 10, 2006 1:13 pm
weed, california? that place is the middle of nowhere- great name, though.
October 17, 2006 11:08 am
You mention that JV Pt 1 & 2 were ‘poorly recorded’, I thought that considering both were recorded as demo’s in a rehearsal room on an 8-track and then added to afterwards (as far as I know) I think they sound pretty damn amazing. However, if you are talking about the sound of the EP’s in comparison to The New Normal and the capturing of Cog’s live sound then you are spot on.
October 17, 2006 11:11 am
I agree that for how Cog recorded those EPs they sound good, but the quality doesn’t match that of The New Normal. There’s a great feel to the JV EPs though some of those tracks I would love to hear properly recorded in a studio.
October 20, 2006 3:29 pm
just come home from seeing Cog live once again, and they constantly blow me away. Heard some of their new material and gee we are in for one hell of another killer album. Lucius is one of the best drummers in Australia, if not the world & Flynn and Luke just play the best live set i have ever seen.
Go Aussie bands, none can top their effort.
April 11, 2008 6:16 pm
Just letting y’all know that their MySpace URL is http://www.myspace.com/cogrockmusic
I’m just discovering them now, they’re awesome!
June 6, 2008 11:55 am
COG, are a great band. I`d never been to a concert before and my brothaer took me to COG in Brisbane in May, it was the best experience ever!!!!!!!!!!! COG are a great Aussie band and should be givin more credit for their talent!!!!!
GO HARD COG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 13, 2008 12:02 pm
COg the best Aussie band going around. New album sharing space is awesome.
December 11, 2008 10:38 am
I can’t find a word to describe Cogs greatness. At first I’d only heard about ‘The Spine’ from The New Normal, but after a while started discovering all their other songs, all of which are brilliant. I think their best albums would have to be The New Normal and Sharing Space. In Cog We Trust…
December 28, 2008 4:51 pm
Just one word everbody – COMPELLING
May 25, 2009 6:50 pm
no one is going to believe this but im related to cog. Damn straight! two of dem are my dads nefews.
May 20, 2010 1:02 pm
COG – THE SOUND OF THREE – LIVE ALBUM ON ITUNES NOW :
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/the-sound-three-12-years-with/id371085812
May 21, 2010 2:03 pm
COG – ‘THE SOUND OF THREE, 12 YEARS WITH YOU’ DVD OUT NOW.
http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/alternative/sound-of-three-the-12-years-with-you-dvd-cd/518387
May 31, 2010 12:22 pm
Wow – what a week for COG! “The Sound of Three – 12 Years With You” DVD soars to the top of the Aria DVD Charts taking nothing less than the Number 1 spot – and the remastered, re-release of “Just Visiting” reaches Number 16 on the iTunes Albums Chart!
http://www.difrntworld.com/news/cog-chart-at-no-1-with-new-dv/
June 4, 2010 4:58 pm
COG DOCUMENTARY ON CHANNEL [V] THIS SUNDAY NIGHT @ 11PM:
http://www.difrntworld.com/news/cog-documentary-on-channel-v-this-sunday/
June 17, 2010 12:20 pm
ATTENTION ALL COG FANS:
Free Cog app available on iTunes now!
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/cog-official-app/id376907353?mt=8
July 5, 2010 3:51 pm
Recently been to a Cog Show?
http://www.difrntentgroup.com.au/thesoundofthree
September 14, 2010 6:28 pm
Check out the Blades myspace and support Aussie Hip hop. Check out our show dates,competitions and there’s a link for the pre-order single!
Peace,
Blades
September 15, 2010 2:35 pm
Just as I was searching through all this old COG stuff (RIP) I saw an ad for this Blades band. Check them out and i dont usually like hip hop, but it was rad! So keen to see them live! Check them out people, they are awesome!