Cougar is an instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 post-rock

Post-rock

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 band from Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 formed in 2003. Formerly on the Madison-based record label Layered Music (the label of Youngblood Brass Band

Youngblood Brass Band

The Youngblood Brass Band is a brass band from Oregon, Wisconsin, United States that was started by students at Oregon High School in 1995 when they were known as the One Lard Biskit Brass Band with the name changed to the current name in 1998.-History:...

, of which drummer D.H. Skogen is also a member), Cougar is now signed to London label Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...

. Cougar toured the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Europe and the UK on the release of their debut album Law during early 2007, including a well-received show in Madison.

Law

Law is Cougar's début album. It was recorded at Layered Studios in Madison and released by Layered Music in Europe in February 2006, and in America release was one year later, on February 20, 2007. It was distributed by Play It Again Sam

Play It Again Sam (record label)

[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...

.

1. "Atlatl" – 5:36
2. "One" – 0:49
3. "Strict Scrutiny" – 5:06
4. "Pulse Conditioner" – 4:01
5. "Interracial Dating" – 3:30
6. "Two" – 0:47
7. "Your Excellency" – 5:34
8. "Three" – 0:41
9. "Lifetime Ranger" – 4:28
10. "Four" – 0:38
11. "The Mosaicist" – 5:20
12. "Black Dove" – 5:43
13. "Five" – 0:59
14. "Merit" – 3:39
15. "Postscript" – 0:47

All tracks written by Cougar.

• Todd Hill – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Trent Johnson – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• DH Skogen – percussion
• Aaron Sleator – electronics, guitar
• Dan Venne – guitar
• John McEntire – additional recording and mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Satoshi Shinozaki – recording of strings on "Black Dove"
• Christian Zamora – strings
  String section
  The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
  
   on "Black Dove"

Reviews

• Pitchfork Media
  Pitchfork Media
  Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
  
   (6.7/10) link
• Time Out Chicago link
• XLR8R
  XLR8R
  XLR8R is a magazine and website thatcovers music, culture, style, and technology. It was founded as anewsprint ‘zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Seattle; themagazine currently has offices in San Francisco and New York...
  
  (8/10) link

Patriot

Patriot is the second studio album by instrumental band Cougar, released in August 2009.

While reception was warm, reviewers tussled with the task of pigeonholing the sound of the album, roll-calling contemporary and influential bands and works. Rock Sound

Rock Sound

Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...

reviewer Dan Morgan illustrated the album's sound: "polyrhythmic Fugazi structures merge delicately with angelic post rock and the sort of even-handed electronica that 65daysofstatic

65daysofstatic

65daysofstatic are an instrumental post-rock and math rock band from Sheffield, England comprising Paul Wolinski, Joe Shrewsbury, Rob Jones and Simon Wright...

 might produce if their parents forced them onto Ritalin." Likewise, Alexander Tudor of Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

 questioned the categorisation of the band and their sound: "Does the grey area between (guitar-led, crescendo-prone) post-rock and instrumental electronica actually have a name we can agree on… or is this what Simon Reynolds had in mind when he coined post-rock, in the mid-Nineties?" Structurally, he compares the album to Mogwai

Mogwai (band)

Mogwai are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite , John Cummings , Barry Burns , Dominic Aitchison , and Martin Bulloch...

's Mr. Beast, Bjork

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...

 and Meanwhile, back in Communist Russia...

Meanwhile, back in Communist Russia...

Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia... was a post-rock band from Oxford, England.-History:The group was founded in 1999. The band's original line up featured keyboardist Tim Croston, guitarist Pete Williams, guitarist James Shames, singer Emily Gray, singer Ed Carder and guitarist and drum machine...

. Writing for the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

, Matt Warwick describes the track "Florida Logic" as "Mars Volta-inspired".
Band members

• David Henzie-Skogen – percussion; recording
• Todd Hill – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Trent Johnson – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Aaron Sleator – electronics, synths and guitar; recording
• Dan Venne – guitar; recording
• Nic Cowles – flute on "Absaroka"
• Sinead Nic Gearailt – harp on "Pelourinho"
• James Murray – vocals on "Rhinelander"
• Nat McIntosh – euphonium on "Absaroka"
• Daniel Miles – bass clarinet on "This is an Affadavit" and "Absaroka"
• Scott Pauli – photography and design
• Amelia Royko – vocals on "Rhinelander"
• Anna Suechting – French horn on "This is an Affadavit" and "Absaroka"
• Roger Siebel – mastering
• Beau Sorenson – mixing
• Peter Streicher – photography and design

Reviews

• Drowned in Sound
  Drowned in Sound
  DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
  
   (7/10)
• NME
  NME
  The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
  
  (8/10)
• Rock Sound
  Rock Sound
  Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
  
  (8/10)

Resources

MySpace

Official web site