Waco Brothers

It’s actually a bit surprising that this is the first-ever live Waco Brothers album, given their reputation for shit-kicking, barnstorming gigs (as often proven at Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern). Its full title is Waco Express: Live & Kickin’ at Schuba’s Tavern, Chicago, the home town of this ragtag bunch of Yankees and expat Brits. They’ve selected favourites from throughout a long career that spans seven studio albums, ripping through them with their trademark lusty guitar assault and boisterous massed vocals. Main man Jon Langford (of Mekons infamy) is in full-blooded form, tossing in some funny stage banter too: "This is a song about the death of country music, something we’ve been working towards for years.” Over the course of 16 songs, the near relentless pedal to the metal approach flirts with monotony, though the subtler "If You Don’t Change Your Mind” makes for a welcome change of pace.