It's been nine fucking years since the last one, and that one was pretty damn bad. Hell, nine years ago was two houses, three kids and two pant sizes ago. It's been a long time since the Beasts of Bourbon have graced us with a record, but here it is, Little Animals, on this blank cdr without cover art. Hey, in the diminished pleasure of the middle years, I'll take what I can get.

Which is pretty damn good, all things considered. I'm still digesting, but after five listens I'm gonna say not Axeman's Jazz or Sour Mash or In the Belly of the Beast, but solid butt rock, and for a few moments even great. I read an interview with Tex Perkins where he said they were going for a 70's hard rock vibe, which is pretty much what they got, with some minor exceptions. The opening track is the obvious single, with huge chunky riffs backing Tex's hatespew refrain, "I Don't Care About Nothing Anymore." Please don't watch the video, though, cuz those Aussie cock rock poses (these are men of 40+) are purty hard to take. That said, the riffs keep on coming, if occasionally light on the hooks, but I sure could do without the title track, a ballad about, well, either endangered species or a metaphor for the endangered rock man that is Tex Perkins. It ain't quite clear.


Look, I've loved these guys well beyond what their albums merited, but Sour Mash remains one of the all-time great hatefuck records, even if half of it is pretty mediocre. In the Belly of the Beast may be the greatest live record I own and arguably the best document of what these guys could do. The new one is as good as one could hope for, I suppose, but I would have preferred some more humor and more diversity. Whatever. If you're looking for driving music this summer, get on my Soulseek, mate. The Beasts are hatin' just fine.