Cougar Den

Midwestern DIY activists Cougar Den fuse melodic hardcore and indie with a message on their self-titled EP. With seven tracks clocking in at just under 25 minutes, the band tears through songs about community, oppression, compassion and the pursuit of happiness.

Cougar Den (comprised of guitarist Justin Schmidt, drummer Kelsey Kaufmann, and bassist/vocalist Bobby Reitman) bend genres from melodic hardcore ("New Kids on the Bloc") to danceable indie-punk ("Suburban Conditioning"), often within a single song. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the guys and girl deliver a refreshing and innovative break from a hardcore scene rife with chugs and breakdowns. Schmidt’s knack for writing impressive yet accessible riffs sets him apart from a slew of players bent on recreating clichés.

The album’s pace varies from energetic and interesting verses to evolving breakdowns to slow build-ups of intensity (“I’ll Take the Side of Reason”). Recorded by Shane Hochstetler (drummer for Call Me Lightning, producer of Terrior Bute), the quality is impressive, with an intelligent and flowing mix of cohesive vocals and layered guitars over punchy bass and frenetic drums.

The members of the band are all either vegan or vegetarian, and promote their views in the liner notes, along with some social commentary regarding society’s priority of profits over people and a push for social tolerance. All in all the record exemplifies the potential of these teenagers to create a profoundly entertaining, meaningful work of art that is just as progressive as the ideals they promote.
- PUNKNEWS.ORG

The thrill of a good punk song is that it's combustible and could ignite at any time. With screamo songs, however, there's never any doubt about when they'll ignite. They arrive pre-lit.

This can be a trap for some screamo acts, whose songs tip their hand immediately, then conclude without further surprises. The better screamo bands, however, pack their music with twists and turns, and seem to genuinely revel in the challenge of playing within the conventions of the genre.

The young Milwaukee group Cougar Den, for instance, distinguishes its songs with rich textures and subtle mood shifts. There's plenty of thrash and ample screaming, obviously, but sprightly guitar lines navigate the listener through the land mines, guiding them to the more tuneful passages. The dynamic guitar work also keeps listeners on their toes. A squirrelly, almost whimsical riff could slow down into something fuller and more pensive, or it could just as easily morph into something more dissonant. The songs give no advance warning.

Cougar Den's spry, nuanced take on screamo is a revelation made more surprising by how young the band is. Its three members founded the band two years ago, when they were just 16 and still in high school. They've long been active in the all-ages hardcore scene—drummer Kelsey Kaufmann has been booking shows since she was 14—and they've quickly become fixtures at house parties, basement shows and all-ages venues like the Shorewood Legion.

"There's something special about Milwaukee's scene," says guitarist Justin Schmidt. "There's just a lot more energy, a lot more heart in this scene. It's not just bands playing bars on the weekends; it's bands going out on tour, setting up shows and bringing other bands to town."

Cougar Den winds down 2007 with an all-ages house show on Dec. 30 (see their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/cougarden, for more details), and is preparing for a characteristically busy 2008. They plan to record a full-length follow-up to their 2006 debut EP, which was produced by Call Me Lightning's Shane Hochstetler in February, and release it in March on the Sioux Falls, S.D., label Init Records, just in time for a March tour.

"The next album will probably have a little more edge than our EP," Schmidt says. "We're getting more into writing harder things … it seems like we've all grown as musicians to become more technical."

- The Shepherd Express