Cowslinger Deluxe

Ohio's Cowslingers play a potent mix of punk, country, and rockabilly, with elements of blues, garage rock, and even folk and surf tossed in for good measure. Although they temper themselves a bit on this release with banjos, fiddles, and accordions, it's still all about Bob Latina's furious Telecaster work and a general attitude that hitting the wall at top speed beats taking your time getting there. The opening track, "Work Privilege," pretty much sets the tone here, with singer Greg Miller joyfully bemoaning, "The judge blamed the alcohol/I blame the acid and the pot." Closing with a cover of G.G. Allin's hyperrealist anthem "Drink, Fight, F**k," the Cowslingers aren't the least bit vague about lifestyle issues. In between they slow things down (at least relatively) to tackle the old folk tune "Oh, the Wind and Rain," which emerges as a country two-step waltz on steroids. The fiddles and banjos add interesting texture, but this sure isn't the way Pete Seeger would do this song, at least not sober, anyway.