American Graveyard

Rough Around the Edges

You can’t always judge a CD by its cover, but there’s nothing misleading about this Austin quartet’s maiden offering. The image of some wayward soul passed out (or dead) on train tracks, with only his acoustic guitar for company, mirrors the music within: debauched Americana with a healthy appetite for booze, whores, guns, and everything else that makes life worth living. Knife-edged blues and fleet-fingered bluegrass are the order of the day; “Penance” is a song title and nothing more. Any payback from this litany of dirty deeds will have to wait until the afterlife: “Forgive me father for I have sinned, you keep the 20, I’ll keep the 10.” Even prison, one of American Graveyard’s favorite subjects, isn’t a deal-breaker given that “Prison Bound” sounds more like a vacation. Don’t call the doctor, don’t call the law, call a priest. Stat. (American Graveyard plays Room 710 Thursday, Feb. 8.)

***.5

This article appears in February 2 • 2007.

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