New Sacred Cow

1	Within Earshot 1:20
2	Freetime 3:23
3	Man Fading 4:05
4	Sunday After You 4:16
5	Vexed and Glorious 6:13
6	A Better Control 3:39
7	Red Man 4:53
8	Hell Bent 3:13
9	Yeneh Ababa (Rose) 5:20
10	War in Me 4:01
11	New Sacred Cow 3:54
12	I'm Gone 3:38
13	Siren 4:32
14	Love/Hate Sensation 10:20

Barnes & Noble

Music enthusiasts who spent their adolescence pining away to the '80s British pop of Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, and the Cure will wholly appreciate Ethiopian-born singer Kenna's new wave–inspired debut, New Sacred Cow. Kenna's emotive vocals recapture the existential angst of the Reagan-Thatcher years. But he's no throwback. Backed by the savvy, genre-splicing, hip-hop-informed sonics of producer Chase Chad (a.k.a. Chad Hugo, one half of the badass production team the Neptunes), the Virginia resident carves out a distinctive sound. Standout tracks include the frenetic single, "Freetime," the melodic "Sunday After You," the brooding "Hell Bent," and the string- and drum 'n' bass–punctuated "War in Me." Oddly enough, Kenna is signed to Flawless Records, helmed by rock-rap bad-boy Fred Durst, who seems to compensate for his limited artistic palette with astute A&R skills. However he's come to this refreshing debut, one thing's for sure: New Sacred Cow is a progressive, if nostalgic, joy from start to finish. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

Even if you don't like Fred Durst's taste in music, you've gotta give the man credit: as an A&R man/label owner, the guy zigs just when you expect him to zag. Granted, his label's debut release, the ultra-experimental rock of Bigdumbface, made perfect sense, seeing as how it featured his Limp Bizkit bandmate Wes Borland. And maybe you could write off the second Flawless album, Puddle of Mudd, as just another attempt to cash in on the nu-metal craze. But how do you explain this curiously oddball release? Produced by Chase Chad, one half of the hit-making rap production team the Neptunes, New Sacred Cow is a bizarre mixture of new wave, synth pop, and hip-hop. Songs like "Freetime" sound strangely like a Duran Duran for the 21st century, with its dreamy harmonized vocals and gurgling synths, while "Man Fading" sounds like a cut from George Michael's Faith as produced by Timbaland. Other tracks, like "Vexed and Glorious," don't have quite the same kitschy retro-futuristic appeal, just narrowly avoiding a Backstreet Boys-like sense of cheeziness thanks to a sharp, off-kilter beat. This is the sort of maddeningly infectious pop album that worms its way into your subconscious. ~ Bret Love, All Music Guide

Rolling Stone

New Sacred Cow not only pays homage to mid-1980s England, it improves upon it. Jon Caramanica

Entertainment Weekly

With Kenna's fey vocal style and myriad layers of hookily atmospheric keyboards, Cow recalls nothing so much as early-'80s British synth-pop after a postmillennial makeover. [B+] Tom Sinclair