Whiskey Shivers’ self-ascribed “thrashgrass” rushes like a river through the Austinites’ three full-lengths: a pinch of punk, a dash of pop, and 100-proof country pickin’ that burns like a shot of Jameson. On fourth album Some Part of Something, the homegrown fivepiece stretches its musical invention into something bigger, expanding the limits of the band’s big-tent bluegrass base further than previously. Though led by a playful banjo line, blunt breakup “Fuck You” leans decidedly rockist in hooking even the most country-averse. “No Pity in the Rose City,” ode to the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” beginning at its opening rebel yell, likewise props punk. Even the largely bluegrass-influenced opener “Cluck Ol’ Hen” embraces a blues aesthetic. Still, the boys are at their best embracing twang. “Liquor, Beer, Wine & Ice” documents how a liquor store can change a small town in a pure back porch musicality. A canny cover of bluegrass standard “Red Rocking Chair” and a stab at Daniel Johnston’s “True Love (Will Find You in the End)” cement Some Part of Something, a genre all its own ripe for the misty mountains of Tennessee.
This article appears in August 11 • 2017.