Don`t be fooled by the quaint, folksy, back porch footstomper that ushers in the debut disc by Cincinnati`s 500 Miles To Memphis. When "Before The Sun Rises" finishes with its "Mandolin Wind"-esque cheeriness, with birds a`chirpin`, you are hit by the disc`s true first track, the appropriately named "Ton Of Bricks". Touting themselves as "country punk at its absolute finest," the band, whose name states the relative distance from their hometown to Graceland, curiously combine punk`s power, emo`s passion and country`s twang. Fabulously melodic in an anthemic way, this disc is exactly as Michael Snyder of the Cincinnati Enquirer described it: as "a record that`s invigoratingly brash and heartrendingly honest." The crunching guitars still leave space for the lap-steel and mandolin...barely. But surely this is fun stuff - sometimes loose about the nuts and bolts - that comes on hard and rarely lets up. (3rd Silo Records) - Robinson, Miles Of Music
