Buffalo Beat – 10/3/02
By Al Delmerico

Suran Song in Stag
Cowboys & Indians
Cruel Music Records

The two discs stand in clear contrast to one another. The “Karaoke Cowboy Dance Disc” takes on a punchy, post-punk sound that is gritty and emotional, as Suran Song’s sometimes spoken lyrics are threaded between driving basslines and wailing, distorted guitars. Meanwhile, the “Small Change Indian Trance Disc” focuses on more melodic, downbeat songs.

Suran Song in Stag’s live performances are packed with “Action Art” created by the band and incorporated directly into their music. Cowboys & Indians can very well stand on it’s own, packed as it is with laudable intensity and creativity, while never overexposing it’s influences. “Remember Lot’s wife/Renounce all sin and vice/Dream of the perfect life,” from “Natural’s Not In It,” is nicely juxtaposed against the age-old and ever-burning question, “The problem of leisure/What to do for pleasure?” Suran Song et al’s decision to cover The Jam’s “Ghosts” earns them extra points in and of itself, but the fact that they do an amazing job reworking it solidifies the album’s status.