Little Cow / Kistehén

Hungarian punk rocker Lazlo can’t be accused of being anything other than serious about breaking the UK. For this, his first British release, he has set about writing new songs with the UK market in mind, bringing in London-based producers Lemez and Fridel to help him out with the lyrics. While there appears nothing wrong with Lazlo’s command of the English language, he ought to feel rather peeved that Messers Lemez and Fridel didn’t dissuade him from putting in a few lines that would be cringe-inducing in any language. ‘Rabbit Not A Man’ is the low-point; presumably the ‘carrot in my hand’ that Lazlo refers to is a intended as a phallic symbol, but what made him think that a bunny rabbit is a good metaphor for primal eroticism? The title track, meanwhile, is about a girl with a penis: good interesting subject matter, but the Venus/penis rhyme is hopelessly puerile. ‘I Will Eat’ goes a little way towards redeeming an EP that’s largely a sorry assemblage: it’s basically five minutes of jumbled ranting that sounds a bit like Iggy Pop succumbing to inevitable dementia, but it actually turns out to be an effective critique of consumerism. - Shout4Music

Dubbed as the punk intellectual who talks to the animals, Lazlo aka Dr. Dooalot is a self-proclaimed farmyard punk singer. From his base at his own zoo outside Budapest, it’s hard to find anyone with the same style or etiquette as Lazlo.

With his deep voice, opening song and title track I’m The Man sounds like Till Lindemann of Rammstein having a jolly sing and dance. Infact, it sounds like a drunk Till Lindemann telling everyone to get fucked up. It’s true, Lazlo’s lyrics are very silly at times but it’s what makes him so great – there’s no need for seriousness when you sing songs such as Rabbit Not A Man. There doesn’t seem to be any hidden meaning in these songs. This isn’t Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, no…it is literally a song about a rabbit. But what’s the problem there? Answer: there isn’t one. Why can’t all music be like this? It’s eccentric, it’s fun, it’s interesting but above all it’s fucking great.

There hasn’t been a good song about a female with the male genitalia since Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s smash hit Your Mother Has a Penis (infact, has there even been any other songs about chicks with dicks?) but Venus is just that. An acoustic folk song about Venus, Lazlo’s girl with a penis. To a lot of people, music is seen as an art form and should that be true, Lazlo is the Banksy of music – tongue in cheek while sticking his middle finger up to society. And again, there’s no problem with that. If anything, there’s a problem with there being not enough Lazlo’s in the world.

Lazlo is comical, but his songs do actually deal with serious subjects – I Will Eat tackles capitalism and Venus deals with homophobia. These are big issues in the world today, it’s hard to disagree with that but Lazlo sings and plays these songs in such a way it’s hard not to listen with a smile on the face. Lazlo might be practically unknown in the UK, but that doesn’t make him any less important – infact, his music has a lot more place in the UK than any of the dire bullshit that the X-Factor churns out every year. Godspeed, Lazlo, Godspeed! - Rock Reviews 24/7

A timeless album with crazy, dreamlike texts and crazy, dreamlike music which conveys a feeling of fun, placing the band firmly in centre stage." (Voice of Culture)

"It's impossible to categorise Little Cow. So the musicians invented their own category; they call their style a 'Cultural Wedding Sound' or 'Crazy Listening'"
"The colourful cocktail is danceable to the very last "
"The Little Cow are on the road to success"
(Melodie&Rythmus)

"Pure madness without Mad Cow Disease"
"Cheekily and joyously, the Hungarians mix pop and folklore with ska and punk, creating irresistibly catchy tunes that won't fail to fill any dancefloor" (Kultur Sonntag)

"A crossover mixture that radiates the spirit of an alternative travelling circus, moves between melancholia and a wild party atmosphere... catchy songs... Top music from a top band" (Sound & Image)

"The fresh, cheeky cultural wedding sound combination of gypsy, Balkan, rock, ska, pop, brass, and dance rhythms, creates the most irresistible, ethnological bastard pop morsels to come out for a while" (Schallplattenmann)

"Gypsy Gulash with Puszta charm"(Vanity Fair)

"Despite a light melancholia, they want to spread a feeling of fun and happiness with their music- with childlike, mad, dreamy texts, which sometimes seem simple or naive, but certainly aren't flippant. And their songs stay in your head. The still exotic sound of Hungarian is also very charming" (Radio Multikulti Berlin)

"The classic rock band set up, complete with accordion and percussion, creates an intoxicating melange of melancholia and pure joie de vivre" (TIP Magazine Berlin)

"Hungary's hottest export since gulash" (Funkhaus Europa 103,3)

„My impression is very good and I think this could be one of the best records by Eastblock” (DPA)

“Little Cow truly is THE dance sound and it also brings fun...” (MDR Figaro)

„Hungarian gipsy-sounds, beefed up with Rock, Pop or Ska – there is no stereotype for this music...” (Märkische Allgemeine)

“… here the relaxed Caribbean flair of Manu Chao meets the melancholy of Fellow Travellers and the subversive- anarchic understanding of pop by Chumbawamba.” (Notes)

“the songs are just great” (Christoph Wagner UK)

“somehow it`s simple and universal with small hits, that creep into the ear. That exactly meets my taste. It gets a recension.” (Ultimo Lübeck)

„I`m corrently listening to “I`m In Love With Every Lady” and am looking for my socks… that’s just about the limit” (Schrille Rille Schweiz)
“great band, your Little Cow. Like it” (Wladimir Kaminer)

“Sometimes the rhythmic basis is a minimalistic acoustic walz, then a sturdy Polka-Rock…, and finally an elegant Bossa-Nova creeps in.” (Funkhaus Europa)

„Classical rockband line up supplemented by Akkordeon and percussion manages a intoxicating mix of melancholy and pure vitality.” (TIP Magazine)
- selection

Little Cow

I'm in Love with Every Lady
Eastblok Music

Gypsy music is definitely in. First Johnny Depp backs the Romanian band Taraf de Haidouks; then New York's Gogol Bordello do their Poguesy take on the Roma sound; and then US bands such as Beirut and A Hawk and a Hacksaw embrace accordions and Eastern European roots music. Now, from Hungary come the rather strangely titled Little Cow and their downright boastfully titled I'm In Love With Every Lady. With its quirky folk art cover, the record serves up a truly wonderful and infectious mix of Hungarian and English lyrics wrapped in Gypsy-tinged ska-funk pop songs. Sounds difficult to imagine? Don't let that put you off. This record is captivating and has you immediately tapping your feet and even singing along in made up gibberish (unless you understand Hungarian, of course).
László Kollár, the band's frontman, is a musician and animator who made a popular kids cartoon in Hungary called Little Cow. He wrote songs for the yellow bovine beast that became so popular that he formed a band of the same name. 'Cyber Boy', the second track on this record, was their first release and was a big hit in Hungary. Other fine songs, such as the gently beginning 'The Chocky is Melting' and weird lyrical content builds with a throbbing bass line into what must be a thrilling live performance, without overplaying itself at all.
They describe their music the 'cultural wedding sound', 'crazy listening' or 'village Beatles'. Whatever, its mix of melancholy and joy, humour and lyricism is fresh, exciting and full of life-affirming chutzpah.
Mark Espiner
- Songline

Waltz, samovar-hot of a Moscow pub, absinthe-colours of a Paris café, smells of a bridal in Bucharest. Little Cow bulids up a carrier of such musics which were thrown away, left aside, worn out by the Hungarian pop's main stream. - Quart

My impression is very good and I think, this might well be one of the best Eastblok releases so far. - DPA

The band makes a refreshening difference, compared to those which are known in the Hungarian pop/rock stream. - Quart

I'm listening to 'I'm in love with every lady' right now and I'm looking for my roof ... absolutely smashing! - Schrille Rille Schweiz

Somehow simple and universal, with loads of little hits, that sneak into your ear. - Ultimo Lübeck