New Deal
Frankenstein's monster was made from spare parts and seemed harmless in the lab, but he caused serious havoc when brought to life. Similarly, the Waco Brothers--Jon Langfordand his merry men, that is--comprise a loutish lot of middle-aged punks drunk on socialism and old country music. They make merely adequate albums. But they rarely fail to deliver thrillingly loud, happily sloppy concerts that charge from one anarchic anthem to the next, with barely a breath between.New Dealis the band's sixth disc and it ranks no better than average among them; nonetheless, at least two of its tunes--"Poison" and "AFC Song"--seem likely to become staples of those stomp-and-shout live shows. The former is a rollicking rant against narrow minds and conservative politics, the latter a hyperactive shuffle with the refrain "Alcohol, freedom, and a country song / I've been waiting way too long." If you'll drink to that, then turn up the stereo, kick up your heels, and stick your thumb in the eye of the nearest authority figure.--Anders Smith Lindall