Punk rockers turned country boys, the members of Drag the River prefer to wear their leather as cowboy boots rather than bondage pants. Pieced together from members of All, Armchair Martian, and The Nobodys, this is their third release as a full-on country ensemble. Skipping over alt-country entirely, save for holding onto an electric guitar, these boys seem ready to go down to Georgia and fiddle with Satan. And I'm putting my money on the man in red.

These songs really are "punk" rock songs sung with a twang; they feel more like power ballads than anything Willie Nelson would touch with a ten-foot pole. Not quite toe-tap worthy, I became quite anxious and high strung while listening. The lyrics leave somewhat more to be desired, with such dazzling and mature sequences as, "We had a fight/ maybe a few/ now she's with him/ and I'm with you". I do respect these dudes for up and switching genres. Clearly they are pleased with the new direction of their music, but I find it necessary to wonder if the members of Drag the River should have sided with the Real World's Frankie and realized that, just maybe, they are too punk rock for this.

-Sarah Stedman