Amy Ray

The Indigo Girl goes punk with her solo record released on her own indie label. It's just Amy and her mandolin thrashing away like a sort of Appalachian Ramone on "Johnny Rottentail"; she lets her voice shred more and more as she gets into it. She has backing for the rest of the record ¾ the Butchies and Rock*A*Teens support on six of the other nine tracks, and Joan Jett and Josephine Wiggs help out on "Hey Castrator." "Lucystoners" is the catchiest track on the record. They have a ball rocking out and slagging Rolling Stone doyenne Jann Wenner for his sexism. "Black Heat Today" is sort of a punk Phil Spector deal, with the unsurpassed Kelly Hogan providing some exquisite harmonies. The majority of tracks were recorded by either Chris Stamey or Sugar's David Barbe. If your expectations are based on the Indigo's catalogue, then Stag will come as a good-sized surprise.