Album Review: Nine Pound Hammer - "When The Shit Goes Down"

 

Long time residents on the excellent Acetate records roster, Nine Pound Hammer are probably best known for being Blaine from Nashville Pussy's "other band" (though they actually pre-date NP having started out way back in 1985 before reforming in the early years of the millennium and kicking on ever since).  Hand on heart, I'd only heard one of their albums before in the form of 2007's Sex, Drugs And Bill Monroe but it was a proper scuzzed-up slice of cowpunk as evidenced by songs like Too Sorry To Shit and Mama's Doin' Meth Again.

With Daniel Rey, best known for his work with the Ramones and the Dictators, in the producer's chair for this one, When The Shit Goes Down is very much cut from the same cloth - like all the best Jason & The Scorchers or Bob Wayne records, it's the sound of a bunch of redneck ne'er do wells plugging in in the barn and kicking up an absolute storm. You can definitely hear Rey bringing a hint of da Bruddas to songs like A Girl Like That while Street Chicken is a Supersuckers style full throttle shot of adrenalin. This album may have been recorded during lockdown in times of uncertainty and worry but the vibe you get here is that this is a band intend on rocking out like there's no tomorrow.

Mama Lied sees them going into more stripped down Merle Haggard territory and they even dig out the Mariachi trumpets for a bit of a Ghost Riders In The Sky feel on One Last Midnight before the harmonica honking Get The Hell Off The Farm picks the tempo up again before they well and truly kick out the jams with the one-two-three headbanger bliss of Possum Kicking FSESOB, Davis County Tractor Massacre and Lizard Brain.

I was really impressed with this album which sees Nine Pound Hammer well and truly kicking loose and showing what they can do, whether that's piledriving through the Dead Kennedys style Lizard Brain or going through a full on honky tonk rave-up like Two Legged Dope. The key is that throughout, it never lets up on the hooks, tunes and riffs. I get the impression this is definitely gonna be in the running when it comes to our Album of the Year charts next month.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (9/10)

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