Somewhere Down the Line

At the beginning of the ’80s, four friends from Vincennes, Indiana — vocalist Pat Todd, guitarist Doug “D.D. Weekday” Phillips, bassist Keith Telligman, and drummer Allen Clark — moved to Los Angeles and started the Lazy Cowgirls, one of the best and least-lauded American punk bands of the 20th century. Their self-titled debut album sounded more garage-rock than the “if the Ramones were bikers” sound they’d adopt on later releases like How It Looks – How It Is, Tapping The Source and the live Radio Cowgirl. In the ’90s, after multiple lineup changes left Todd the only original member, they slowed down some, moving in a straightforward rock direction that could have appealed to fans of Tom Petty or the Georgia Satellites, but they continued to toil in obscurity. In 1999 and 2000, they released two albums more or less back to back, with Rank Outsider arriving first and Somewhere Down The Line following six months later. The albums aren’t mirror images of each other like Opeth’s Deliverance (super heavy) and Damnation (mellow, proggy); instead, they’re companion pieces reflecting Todd’s growth as a songwriter and the band’s expanding musical ambitions. Todd’s lyrics showcase a fatalistic romanticism, and some, like “You Have Got Religion Now,” are genuinely surprising. Like Petty, he can convey a lot in just a line or two. The songs have a swinging backbeat courtesy of drummer Bob Deagle, and lead guitarist Michael Leigh (who sings on “Rawhide and Steel”) switches between electric and acoustic, even playing some slide here and there, as bassist Leonard Keringer anchors it all. The strummed acoustic guitars on “Leap of Faith” and “What I Want” are as energetic and intense as the distorted electrics on the rest of the album.