Armed with only an acoustic guitar and more than an empty guitar case’s worth of vitriol, Rainstick Cowbell makes searing music that’s intensely personal. Rainstick Cowbell (actually one Scott Arbogast) released the Fireants album earlier this year, and it goes from intense, clear-eyed rants to unhinged exorcisms. On the final track, a screed called “A Self-Indulgent Song, I Know, but I Want My Family to Hear This,” Arbogast calmly intones lines like, “So useless to you/Son of someone else… Where are you?/You should’ve died.” It’s exhilarating to hear music this raw, and by keeping close to the source, Arbogast makes a kind of folk music that’s incredibly heavy even as it sticks to the delicate acoustic-guitar-and-voice template.
— Portland Mercury
…An ethereal quality that is driven by Arbogast’s unique riff-based guitar playing…
— Portland Sentinel
…Charged with anger and passion, complemented by driving acoustic guitar arrangements… a refreshingly different album that is worth a listen.
–Pophatmusic.blogspot.com
…Distinct voice set to pissed-off…the message as important as the melody…
–Terrascope.co.uk
Rainstick Cowbell 