Cleveland has long produced some of the weirdest and wildest acts in punk/hardcore. Bands from Cruelster to Inmates have brought a welcome inanity and unpredictability that, at least in the latter, has helped to define the Clevo sound. The Cowboy is no exception and their debut album, The Cowboy Album, released on Fashionable Idiots, continues the stupidity of bassist Steve Peffer’s former bands Homostupids and Folded Shirt but combines it with the angular Devo-ish guitars and eccentricity of The Minneapolis Uranium Club. While their sound compliments bands on the Lumpy Records roster, the penchant for grimy rock-n-roll – a sensibility analogous to Flyin’ Trichecos – places them far closer to some of the bands currently coming out of Buffalo – Tapehead immediately comes to mind. The Cowboys Album is a wild ride of off-kilter music that flirts with rock-n-roll and post-punk without ever ceasing to firmly be one of the catchiest punk records of 2017 – as well as one of the best accompaniments for the Uranium Club 12” given a US pressing this year by Fashionable Idiots.