The Judas Cow began life in the early 2000s as a live trio hitting some of the more prominent rock clubs around Columbus. Their style, a distinctly Midwestern, mid-tempo blend that falls somewhere between Americana and Tom Petty, seems to lend itself just as much to quiet listening sessions around the house, however, and many of us eagerly await some official recorded output.
Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Kevin Spain, formerly of beloved local group Silo The Huskie, they would at long last release an EP in 2006, Last Summer. Prior to this, the band had circulated some demos by hand, passing Sharpie labeled discs out around town, and it’s impressive to hear how polished these songs became in the finished product. Of course, playing out constantly does help with that process. But bass player Ryan Haye had only just picked up the instrument shortly before joining the group, and you would never guess that in listening to this EP. Here are the tracks, in order:
Augmented by a fourth member, Chris Bair (also a Silo alumni), they would reconvene to crank out another self-titled disc in 2008. During their prime, I felt like The Judas Cow were my favorite local songwriters – and course the tunes still hold up now. Sadly, apart from contributing to the occasional Exquisite Noise Records compilation album, it doesn’t appear that any of their material is currently in print.
However, they have been kind enough to allow me to list downloadable version of the albums here! This includes one complete demo from the early days which was never even formally released. Just click on the specific album you would like to pick up in the image below:
