Hey Buddies...

Album Review

Consisting of punk rock vets from All, Armchair Martian, and the Nobodys, the men of Drag the River throw genre loyalty to the wind and serve up an Uncle Tupelo-styled outing in Hey Buddies. The EP is launched by "Hang Dog," a lilting, unplugged stab at Americana, and Chad Price's rasp is as well-suited here as it is in his punk role. As his bandmates build it into the perfect companion for a cheap bottle of whiskey and a pack of generic cigarettes, the group slides into the upbeat, pedal steel-steered stomp of "Columbus Stockade Blues." From the somber "So Long Hoss" — which could be a Jeff Tweedy number off of Anodyne — to the shimmering nod to getting blitzed known as "Modern Drunkard," this is an EP worth tracking down. ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi