Oog Bogo: Cowgirls [Album Review]

Oog Bogo
Cowgirls
In The Red Records [2025]

“A warped rock thrill ride that dodges easy labels and rewards repeat listens.”

Album Overview: Oog Bogo, the ever-evolving brainchild of Kevin Boog (ex-Meatbodies), has been turning heads since their early days on Ty Segall’s God? label. Now rolling with a steady lineup—Gabe Flores, Julian Betts, and Grant Snyder—the band has landed back with In The Red Records for their second full-length, Cowgirls. This album marks a clear shift: it’s tighter, louder, and more locked-in, while still embracing the unpredictable spirit that made their earlier stuff tick. Recorded at Discount Mirrors (the sonic playground of John Dwyer and Eric Bauer), Cowgirls ditches the lo-fi fog in favor of sharper interplay, dynamic mood shifts, and a rhythm section that never quits. It’s the kind of record that keeps unfolding with every listen—ten tracks that feel like they’re dodging genre labels while daring you to keep up.

Musical Style: Oog Bogo thrives in the margins of underground rock—warped guitars collide with wiry basslines, punchy drums, and sudden detours into chaos or melody. There are post-punk stabs, psychedelic freakouts, and bursts of pure DIY adrenaline. The band constantly teeters between abrasion and accessibility, creating a push-pull dynamic that makes the whole thing feel alive. Just when you think they’re settling into a groove, they torch it and build something new.

Evolution of Sound: If 2022’s Plastic was a sonic sketchbook, Cowgirls is a finished mural. The new lineup gives the songs more muscle, and Boog’s songwriting feels sharper—less scattershot, more deliberate. The rhythm section lays down a solid foundation, letting the band stretch into stranger shapes without losing momentum. It’s a confident step forward, showing a band that knows its identity but isn’t afraid to test its limits.

Artists with Similar Fire: If you’re into the blown-out fury of The Wipers, the scorched psychedelia of Destruction Unit, or the wild-eyed inventiveness of Thee Oh Sees, you’ll feel right at home here. There are flashes of Ty Segall’s heavier moments and the grimy swing of Ex-Cult too. It’s music that burns bright without ever feeling over-rehearsed or nostalgic.

Pivotal Tracks: The title track, “Cowgirls,” is the record’s nerve center—equal parts lurch and lift, it stitches the album’s wild threads into something cohesive. “Is This Love” simmers with tension, building slowly through hypnotic repetition and layered instrumentation that showcases the band’s knack for mood control. “No Way” kicks off with a tense acoustic strum, then flips into a blast of Nirvana-esque feedback before snapping right back into quiet unease—like grunge whiplash with a twist. And “Giddy Up” is a total ripper, flying through punk, psych, and modern rock history in just over two minutes. These songs hold the record together, anchoring its stranger detours with purpose and grit.

Lyrical Strength: Rather than straight storytelling, the lyrics drift through surreal snapshots and emotional undercurrents—like flipping through a dream-stained photo album of Los Angeles. There’s a thread of disillusionment running through Cowgirls, but also a stubborn hope that clings to escape, connection, and survival. It’s the sound of someone squinting at the chaos and still seeing shapes worth chasing.

Final Groove: Cowgirls is a noisy, nervy, and surprisingly elegant ride through Oog Bogo’s warped rock vision. It’s an album that resists easy definition, but rewards repeat listens with its buried hooks and shifting moods. With a retooled lineup and a clearer sense of direction, Oog Bogo has found their footing without losing their edge. Wherever they go next, they’ve got the gas—and the guts—to make it interesting.

OOG BOGO LINKS
Instagram | In The Red Records