The Backsliders

The biggest gripe—if there's one worth having—with THe BAcksliders' 2008 release, You're Welcome, was that it didn't showcase the band's best side; for whatever reason, the disc found the long-running, hard-partying area rock act's classic, gritty blues-rock sound pushed aside in favor of a more New Wave-y, poppy sound. It wasn't a complete sidetrack, though: Live, the band still brought its in-your-face goods, tossing grittier vocals and more muscular licks into the mix to roughen the edges up to snuff. The band's latest, Thank You, takes any post-rearrangement out of the equation, though, immediately dirtying and revving up the band's sound—look no further than the thumping opening bass line of album-starter "Have You Ever Been Down," a track that could instantly find a home in the straight-ahead, working man's blues-rock of '70s-era Detroit.

Ettiquette-oriented album title be damned, THe BAcksliders' new album is the definition of rock 'n' roll—dirty, riffy, growly. Hell, a dictionary couldn't describe the term as well. But it's not just the aesthetics; the stories told by the brothers Bonner (Jason and Chris) and frontwoman Kim Pendleton-Bonner are tried and true as well, paeans to the touring band woes, the crowds that show their support and the hazy nights the two share together. Actually, that's just the fourth track, "Last Call." But you get the idea.

No, there's nothing especially new about Thank You. But that's probably why it works.