Review: Cosmic Psychos – Go The Hack

Go The Hack was the Cosmic Psychos first album to gain any kind of momentum here in Yankee-land, seeing an initial limited release on Shagpile in 1989 and then Sub Pop in 1990. Meaner and more focused than the group’s earlier fare, Hack sees them incorporating a subtle dragstrip-cum-Lemmy approach, which would rear it’s head months later on the recordings of many more groups from the Northwest like Gas Huffer, The Supersuckers and even Tad. While the vast majority of these cuts lie in the “meat n’ taters rockers” camp (“Lost Cause” and “Rip ‘n’ Dig”), the tongue-firmly-in-cheek humor and wayward pop lilt of “Out of the Band” and “Elle” show these guys were a cut above the usual barroom shlock of the era. Kudos to Goner for getting these gems back into the mix.  –Dylan Chadwick