R.I.D.E.

Trick Pony was doing rough and rowdy long before Gretchen Wilson came along and flew the flag for redneck women, but their third album (and first for Curb), R.I.D.E., proves that the trio sounds rougher and rowdier than Wilson. Trick Pony are a quintessential Southern bar band, nominally country but just as comfortable with rock & roll and blues. They'll also throw a little pop in the mix — as in "When I Fall," a bid for a crossover hit — but they're better off when they relax and kick out music that's the ideal soundtrack for a weekend. Heidi Newfield has a sexy, throaty growl that adds grit even to the slower songs and she's complimented by Keith Burns' clean swagger, and the combination of two lead vocalists helps give R.I.D.E. a welcome sense of variety. Sometimes, the trio can get a little silly and sometimes their material leans a little bit too close to the generic, but for the most part this is a lean, mean redneck country-rock album, one that promises and delivers a damn good time.