Legendary Shack Shakers: Agri Dustrial

The entire career of Nashville country punks Legendary Shack Shakers has been a primer for Agri Dustrial, an album that mashes the rhythmic industrial plod of farmland industry with wide-eyed rock and roll. From the onset of deranged mechanical clatter gone haywire in “Melungeon Melody” to Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Dension’s unmistakable snarl in “Sin Eater,” the album is absolutely on fire. “Dixie Iron Fist,” “Greasy Creek” and “The Hills of Hell” ignite with the kind of high-energy, hillbilly jitters that are an indelible part of the Shack Shakers experience. But distorted percussion and layers of ambient noise in “Hammer and Tongs,” “Hog-Eyed Man” and “Dump Road Yodel” make Agri Dustrial a masterpiece of experimental music. The album’s weirdest moments lie in the periphery, where dense, motorik textures filled with intrigue never hamper the flow of a truly rocking album that fires on all cylinders. 4 stars out of 5