The Meat Purveyors - Someday Soon Things Will Be Much Worse!

The Meat Purveyors' newest CD, out Tuesday on Bloodshot, is a bit of a different turn for the band. The album is largely electric and features drums prominently. I had heard that they did an electric set at SXSW (and they are allegedly going to be doing the same again at the North vs. South mini-fest here in Lawrence next month), but I was a bit shocked to hear electric guitar, drums, pedal steel, and honky-tonk piano when I put this album in my stereo.

Not that they've given up on the pretty distinctive punk-bluegrass sound they've been working on for something like ten years; it appears on the album also. The new sound and the old integrate quite well, so well that I can't recall without relistening which songs are electric. Highlights of the album include covers of the Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and Loretta Lynn's "Fist City" as well as original "Liquor Store." (On the other hand I could have done without the Foreigner cover; they're the reason I stopped listening to classic rock radio.)

The overall sound of this album is much more honky tonk than bluegrass, largely due to the electrification as well as the contributions of guest musicians, particularly Amy Boone on piano and "Sweet" Gary Newcomb on steel. The album also features a bit of a political undercurrent, as the title ought to suggest, including two (count them two) songs that question the genuineness of the president's Texas accent.

Listen:
The Meat Purveyors - Fist City

Buy:
From Bloodshot
From Amazon