Alcohol Tobacco Raygun (Uk)  (Music, Audio CD)

Third release from Muleskinner Jones, an artist who has been described by Classic Rock Magazine as having 'a genuinely keen ear for country, bluegrass and blues', and of writing songs 'that Nick Cave would be proud of'. Uncut referred to his last release, 'Death Row Hoedown', as being 'demented deep twang', and added 'even Johnny Dowd would keep his distance'. Musically the LP defies easy categorisation - it's not often you hear a vocoder and a mandolin on the same LP, much less the same track. Rooted in traditional Americana but filtered through the disjointed twang of Captain Beefheart, the dark psychedelia of early Butthole Surfers, and the angular art-rock of The Fall; from the almost out and out honky-tonk of 'Drinking To Get Drunk' to the industrial noise- folk of the epic 'Her Desert Yard' this is more 'avant-country' than 'alt-country'.