New Haven Advocate 4/28/05

The Can Kickers

Fire in the East, Fire in the West (7 vinyl EP on Arkham Records; cankickers.com).

Someday, after the bombs fall and the electrical grid topples over, when theres no juice for our stereos and well have to ransack those yellowed books of sheet music for entertainment, the Can Kickers will roam from one punk rock squat to the next, thrashing away at acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, and minimal drumkit, and well all recognize the fury and painfully-learned truth and sheer weird timelessness in these ancient songs theyve been rolling out. Thats the great thing about the Can Kickers, a trio playing older-than-dirt American folk tunes with the energy of a punk band. Recognizing the malleability of these songs, this four-song record contains plenty of references to the War on Terrorism and the Bush administration, but only in passing--Danny Spurr sings like a man steeped in sin and the knowledge of its wages, all moonshine and damnation and no regrets; politics here are just something to acknowledge and shake ones head at while passing the jug around. And after all, after the apocalypse, what more will we be able whatever happens on the other side of the mountain? --Brian G.LaRue