Hammerlock - Compromise is For Cowards (Steel Cage)
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Ok, so chances are, Hammerlock ain't half the gator-eatin' psychotic redneck bastards they appear to be- they're from San Fran, f'r Chrissakes- but I'm the kinda cat that's willin' to believe that a little truth comes out in even the grandest put-ons. I mean, Hammerlock head honcho Travis Kenney is most likely NOT gonna slit yr fool belly with a buck-knife fer ogling his superfoxy tattooed wife n' bass player Liz, but, ya know, you really wanna take that chance, bubba? Not after eyeing his Motorhead-inked biceps, you don't, and certainly not after soaking in the white trash terror-train that is "Compromise is for Cowards", Hammerlock's 4th full-length declaration of scum-dom. I dunno the last time white people sounded this fuckin' scary, Jack. HL's sound is a meaty stew of shitkicker country, cock rock, and Dixie biker metal, which would all just be an ungainly squall of chest-thumping noise were it not for the Kenneys' masterful songwriting skills. All these tracks sound like they were written at the kitchen table over a pot of coffee on an acoustic guitar, and were it not for all the extra Y chromosomes flowing wildly through Travis and Liz's DNA (I dunno where she's hiding them, but they gotta be there), they mighta stayed acoustic, a backporch outlaw jamboree for the crickets and the frogs, but K, K and drummer Mikey Kingshall (Hey, that's K...K...and...yikes!) are not booze-swillin' country bumpkins, they're rock stars, baby. Evil ones, even, which are always the best kind. As such, maybe you don't buy "Second Home", the jail song, as much as you would if Travis was singing it outside the 7-11 with a crusty nose and a cardboard sign, and figure they like WRITING songs about eating Dinty Moore beef stew more than, well, eating it, and that's all probably true, but so what? I mean, Kris Kristofferson fronting the Four Horsemen is a great idea man, no matter where it comes from. San fran fuckin' cisco, even. Anyway, the best songs on here are the ones that really tug the ol' hanging rope 'tween C&W and murderpunk, like the crunching hillbilly howl of the aforementioned "Second Home" ("I just might go out and fucking kill someone/Cuz I might just get a good night's sleep when they find my smoking gun"- Is this the Gary Sampson theme song?) and the good 'ol boy thunderboogie of "Oldest Friend" ("Alcohol, you're my..."). Oh, and the Marshall Tucker Band and David Allen Coe covers, of course. Elsewhere, it's pure scumpunk blister, fulla broken glass bellow and moonshine swillin' slide guitar and mouthy punch rock, and it's all pretty fuckin' sweet, bro. Can't tell ya if Hammerlock really grow pot in their backyard and vote republican, or if they really do refuse to sell this here rekkid to the French, but, you know, probably they do. They sure as fuck sound like it, and ain't that the point of rock n roll? Yep. I reckon it is.
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