Sodajerk

Longtime friends Bucky Goldstein and Poppa John Tucker formed Sodajerk in Pittsburgh in the late '90s, intent on proving that country music didn't have to suck. Very reminiscent of local legends Slobberbone and Old 97's (when Rhett Miller and crew worshipped Johnny Cash more than the Beatles), Sodajerk has remained free of the slick, mature vibe that seems to have dulled the senses of many in the alt-country genre.

2 is actually the band's fifth release, but its first since Sodajerk relocated to Atlanta. Full of songs that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Too Far to Care, still the best Old 97's album, 2 is a joyfully drunken barrage that never lets niceties get in the way of a rowdy time. "Carbomb (To Your Heart)," "Love You Like a Coroner" and "Fuck 'N' Fight" feature all the subtlety of a hailstorm as the band channels the best attributes of Paul Westerberg (i.e. drunk and disheveled) into their hayseed humanity.

Clearly derivative and stubbornly retro, Sodajerk is nevertheless a blast of cornpone adrenaline, four guys who cried when Slobberbone broke up and who still believe wholeheartedly in the 3 B's: beer, babes and bravado. Honest, surprisingly literate and unapologetically loud, Sodajerk might just be the kick in the ass that, for the roots movement, is long overdue.