Swinging to a familiar western beat in one breath, pushing out a crunchy riff as violent as it is entrancing in the next, Jesse & The Hogg Brothers don’t know how to slow down when they start partying in the recording studio – or, at least, it would seem so by listening to their new album Get Hammered this spring. Keeping with the spirit of Hank Williams III, GG Allin, The Cramps, and the occasional dash of Fu Manchu-style fuzz, Jesse & The Hogg Brothers aren’t afraid to get down n’ dirty with a riff in “We’re All in This Together,” experimental in “Cream Gravy,” and downright nasty in “Santa’s Got a Bag of Coal.” There’s a lot of evidence to support the notion of this group having a lot of love for the old guard in their genre, but at the same time, I think it’s difficult to peg their specific approach to songwriting as being particularly retro in nature. Contrarily, I pick up a completely unfiltered, countrified edge that seems almost unintentionally punkish in spots, making theirs truly one of the more unforced examples of a country/rock crossover you’re going to hear in 2021.
The guitars are crisp in “Love Buckets” and “Biker Ann” the same, but I like that the band was able to get different levels of tonality out of the riffing in each track here. There’s arguably as much attention being paid to the textural component of the strings here as there is the actual ache of the melodies they produce, and in the case of “Onion Ring,” “The Hammer” and “Black & Blue,” the guitar element is made more conservative in the mix because of this very reason. It clears some space for some awesome vocal harmonies in all three of the aforementioned tracks, but I wouldn’t say these songs lack aggression as a result of the formula Jesse & The Hogg Brothers are using. Beyond tempo, the urgency we find in this music comes through the intensity of the verses – i.e. “America,” “Hogg Tail Twist,” “Texas Hammer” – as opposed to the potency of a beat alone. There aren’t any weak spots in the fabric of this album, but instead only moments when the band isn’t giving us every ounce of thunder they can (for good reason, mind you).
You don’t have to be a longtime fan of this crew to find something to love about Get Hammered, but for those who have been keeping up with Jesse & The Hogg Brothers, I think you’re going to find this record to be one of the more complete and well-rounded they’ve released since White Trash Meth Lab – an LP I would deem their opus.
Alternative rock has started to feel real again in 2021 after nearly two decades of increased stagnation well beyond the scope of what ‘80s punk rock stalwarts would have ever predicted for the genre, and if you’re looking for evidence of a real resurgence this year, you needn’t search any further than the killer tracklist featured in Get Hammered.
Emily Knudsen