Swank

Vancouver roots outfit Swank always have a hard drinkin’, barn burnin’, rootin’ tootin’ good time. On their third full-length release, the West coast rabble-rousers have added some devil baitin’ to the mix and come up with a stylistically diverse collection that has a distinctly bible bashing tone. From high-energy cow-punk throw downs like "Drunkards’ Damnation Jubilee” to Dust Bowl weepers such as "Donkey Cart,” Campfire Psalms contains 16 tracks of booze-soaked, irreverent country punk. Many of the songs on the disc are long, wittily rambling narratives full of blazing banjo breakdowns, faux-Biblical sermonizing and hellfire and damnation-style admonitions. Swank poach from time-worn musical styles, blending folk, country and rockabilly sounds to give life to their tales of luckless drifters and broken-hearted drunkards. The disc also comes conveniently packaged with a karaoke DVD for those moments, no doubt frequent, when you’ll feel compelled to sing along. Praise the Lord and pass the whiskey.