Grindstone Creek isn’t your father’s country, but they are also a hell of a lot closer to your father’s country than current country. The twang is unmistakably there but there’s also guitar licks that would be more at home in a metal club than a bar with a mechanical bull.

“Who I Am” leads off the album as a disclaimer, it immediately shows that this band has far more snarl an attitude than you’d expect. The album’s music is thick and tough and the lyrics match. Singer Kari Crow pushes a rigid point of view touching on broken trust, lies and lots of hard liquor. On the very pointed “Suck City” a direct message is delivered to an audience of one and on “Villians” you see the crew in relax mode looking for the bottom of the bottle. The St. Joseph based band also powers through an appropriate love/hate relationship song about their home base on “Joe Town.” On the more straight forward country “Right In Front of Me” Crow tries on her more gentle vocal approach helping the band cash in on likely their most radio friendly track. The sentimentality doesn’t last long though, songs like “At The Bar” and “Barfight Rodeo” are much more common here and better define the band and album.

This brand of scuzz country is refreshing, Grindstone shows that you can bump up the twang and not lose your edge. It’s a breath of fresh air for music fans who don’t like country or are tired of country.

Key Tracks: “Villians” “Right In Front of Me” “Who I Am”