Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather is a band that was founded by Robert Harrison of Austin, Texas in 1990. What started as an experimental collaboration with cellist Nat Shelton, had by 1993 evolved into a guitar driven pop quartet. They have drawn comparisons to the Beatles, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Squeeze, and Guided by Voices. In his 2007 book, Shake Some Action, John Borack rated the Kon Tiki album at number 26 of his Top 200 Power Pop Albums of all time, comparing the album to Revolver-era Beatles, Big Star, and The Apples in Stereo. NME suggested Cotton Mather might be "the most exciting guitar pop band since Supergrass." The group (with the lineup Robert Harrison (guitar and vocals), Whit Williams (guitar and vocals), Matt Hovis (bass) and Greg Thibeaux (drums)) released their debut Cotton is King in 1994 on the short lived ELM label. The follow-up Kon Tiki, was recorded on 4-track cassette and ADAT. By this time George Reiff had assumed bass playing honors and Dana Myzer had taken over on drums. The group's best-known lineup with Harrison, Williams, Myzer and Josh Gravelin (bass) released the seven-song mini-album Hotel Baltimore in 2000 and The Big Picture in 2002. In 2013 and with the same lineup, the group released a new studio single entitled "I'll Be Gone".