Junkyard Speed Ball

iTunes Review

Left Lane Cruiser is a lively Indiana blues-punk duo that cleverly weds the hypnotic drone of North Mississippi bluesmen like T-Model Ford and R.L. Burnside to the burnout boogie of early-‘70s Southern rockers like Black Oak Arkansas. The group’s music is admirably simple, and though Left Lane Cruiser rarely varies its approach, it’s hard to imagine fans wearying of its relentless, riff-driven attack. Junkyard Speedball is Left Lane Cruiser’s fourth full-length, and it contains all the hallmarks of its previous albums: crushing blues riffs darkened by occasional Sabbath-style minor chords, deliriously unhinged drumwork, and distorted vocals steeped in cheap beer and hillbilly pride. Songs like “Weed Vodka” and “Pig Farm” boast guitar as coruscating as anything The Black Keys have dreamed up, while the storming “Represent” sports a glowering metal riff that showcases the dark side of Left Lane Cruiser’s redneck Americana. It evokes the sort of drugged-out nihilism made by Southern sludge-metal outfits like Acid Bath and Crowbar.