Asskickers

Editor's Review:

Chico’s favorite hipster country band, the Asskickers, have finally released their first full-length CD, a 13-track collection of sublimely simple, traditional country and rock tunes with a distinctly cow-punk vibe. With this recording, the five-piece group — frontman Bob Howard (guitar), John LaPado (pedal steel), Steve Bragg (drums), Alan Wood (bass) and Scott Pressman (lead guitar) — capture on disc some of the great tunes they’ve perfected live — music that incorporates crying pedal steel guitar, traditional shuffle and bluesy, country rhythms and softer acoustic guitar accents, all wrapped up with biting and witty punk rock-esque lyrics that poke fun at modern pop culture, old-time country values, drug use and fleeting iconography.

The album kicks off with "One Horse Town," a pretty straightforward, up-tempo country tune about the pitfalls of living in a small town ("All these trees keep closin’ in / I’ve got my booze, my Vicodin / but nothin’ seems to pacify my mind"), and leads straight into "Porno Queen," a lovely, weepy ballad, thick with pedal steel, about a love that could never be ("I guess in retrospect it seems / I was a bit naïve / she made most of her money on her back and on her knees"). "Trees" is a song dedicated to Julia "Butterfly" Hill, "S&M Blues" is a scary little honky-tonk ditty about a bad night at the local bar and time spend with someone named Mistress Sadie, and "Springer Show" runs afoul of so many different stereotypes of late night television "real life" drama, there isn’t enough space to list all the barbs — sheer genius.

Bookmark:

Released July 2001

Tracks One Horse Town Porno Queen Trees S&M Blues Springer Show Cooking Chicken Wide Eyed Leroy Porn head Gran Pap’s Trip Goddamn Bad 24 Hours Punk Rawk Dawg Lottery