Take in the Heartland Punk Brilliance of Country Westerns and Their New Album, 'Forgive the City'
The Nashville duo beefs things up on their second album with Matt Sweeney behind the boards.
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Those looking for Nashville’s Country Westerns to provide twanged-out honky tonk are the only ones that may be disappointed with their excellent new album, Forgive the City.
Even then, those folks would find it impossible not to convert to the band’s brand of heartland rock that is ingrained with the dirt and dust of a musty backyard garage. Forget the usual stuff mined from the Country Music Company Town, and think Midwest punkers like The Replacements or a crunchier take on R.E.M.’s formidable college radio jangle-pop years.
Country Westerns is the duo of vocalist and guitarist Joey Plunkett and drummer Brian Kotzur (bassist Jordan Jones is a fresh addition) who carry resumes to impress. Originally a hardcore kid from Atlanta, Plunkett built a name for himself by fronting The Weight, an aughts Brooklyn mainstay, and touring as the bassist for King Tuff and Gentleman Jesse. Kotzur’s background includes drumming for the late legendary Dave Berman’s Silver Jews and Crooked Fingers, amongst a ton of other bands.
Along for the ride, this time is the producer and guitarist Matt Sweeney (Skunk/Chavez/Zwan), who Check This Out! last covered when he produced Garcia Peoples’ Dodging Dues. Plunkett and Kotzur bring back all of the heart-on-sleeve passion found in their self-titled debut. Still, Sweeney, who also contributes some well-placed guitar solos, and engineer Daniel Schlett really beef things up this time around - Forgive the City needs to be heard cranked up at full volume sometime after the sun goes down to appreciate its pristine aural crunchiness fully.
Country Westerns wisely keep Forgive the City lean and mean - the longest of its twelve songs barely tops out at over three minutes, letting this thing fly by.“Knucklen” includes some riffs that would make J Mascis blush, while “Speaking Ill of the Blues” rolls through Heartbreakers territory in fetching fashion. “Grapefruit” is sung from the point of view of a grizzled old bartender, with Plunkett declaring, “Forget the town when we could leave the earth.” “Money on the Table” struts and “Country Westerns” gallops before “It’s a Livin’” reaches E-Street greatness, but it’s songs like “Cussin’ Christians” that whoop it up and make Forgive the City a fun listen.
Here’s the deal: you can compare Country Westerns to an endless list of bands that have come before them, but Plunkett and Kotzur are really doing their own thing here. Plunkett’s perfectly porous vocals can only be finely crafted by years of whiskey and cigarettes, and he’s got a load of hooks here that will stick in your head. Kotzur continues to show why he’s a scene legend, and his propulsive drums hold everything together when it often sounds like things are on the verge of falling apart.
Forgive the City is one of those exceptional records that sounds not only immediately fresh but also comes off as a profound record bin discovery showing its age with ring wear. For this reason, Country Westerns have released one of the most enjoyable records of the year so far.
Forgive the City is available now on Fat Possum Records.
I love the dichotomy of the band's name and their music. This is a great listen that I keep going back to. Plus, anytime you can find a reason to reference The Replacements means there's SOMETHING there.
Gave parts of this a listen. Will do a deeper dive. If you get the chance, check out Fever/Sky by Wilder Woods and Butch Walker as ... Glenn. Think you might enjoy those.