Cocktails - "Hey Winnie"

The older I get, the more raucous guitar-driven punk and rock 'n' roll I seem to be listening to. This blog used to be evenly populated by folk, funk and afro-pop, electro-pop, and even old Studio One reggae gems. But over the past year, the songs that have been most consistently lighting the fire of inspiration under this music nerd's ass are the ripped, gnarled, fuzz-soaked six-stringed output of bands like King Tuff, The Tough Shits, Eternal Summers, White Wires, and Natural Child. The latest addition to this near-constant rotation is San Francisco's promising Cocktails: the first great discovery of 2013. The group's 4-track 7" EP—out in February on Father/Daughter Records—was recorded last summer in Oakland's glam-punk outpost, Fuzz City—run by the folks behind Warm Soda. That collaboration is evident from the first glam-smacked punch of drumming on EP opener, "No Blondes (In California)." But today I'm sharing the barely two-minute-long first single "Hey Winnie"—an explosive and unabashedly fun jump-kick to the gut filled with dueling guitar riffage and fiercely sharp power-pop melodies.

Pre-order the 7" vinyl from Father/Daughter.

Cocktails - "Hey Winnie"