Nine Pound Hammer – Too Outlaw for Outlaw Country

As a fan of Tojo Yamamoto who regularly feature on Clean Sheets, as well as both Nashville Pussy and the Reptilian Records label, it made sense for me to cover this release seeing as there are connections between all three and Nine Pound Hammer.

Nine Pound Hammer have been going a fair old while, forming in 1986 in Owensboro, Kentucky and featured in the line-up are The Sublime Mark Hendricks – Bass/Vocals, The Infamous Blaine Cartwright – Guitar/Vocals, The Fabulous Earl Crim – Guitar, The Bombastic Josh Love – Drums and The Stupendous Scott Luallen on Vocals. There are a host of guest stars too including The Legendary John Haywood – Fiddle/Banjo/Vocals, The Iconic Ian Thomas – Pedal Steel and The Scintillating Sherri McGee – Vocals. The group have a sizeable catalogue, ten or so full-length albums yet this is my first go round with them so this will be a new, exciting experience. This EP serves as a primer for the band’s upcoming 2027 full-length album.

‘Too Outlaw for Outlaw Country’ makes it clear that the band don’t appreciate some of the genre’s newer proponents and despite being someone who doesn’t listen to the genre, (I have no horse in this race), I nonetheless appreciate the overall sentiments of ‘keeping it real’ and the authenticity presented which is impossible to ignore. Although sonically Country genre-wise, there’s an undeniable Punk attitude, which is fine by me. ‘Burn The Whole World Down’ presents a Folkier edge, recalling Bob Dylan at his prime and underrated Anti-Folk artists as Roger Manning. There’s also a little Grateful Dead present circa 1970’s Workingman’s Dead, their finest hour in my humble opinion. A masterfully constructed piece. ‘Black Rose’ is the first of two covers on the record and was originally by Billy Joe Shaver from his 1973 debut Old Five And Dimers Like Me. As to be expected the band give it a fun, rednecky adrenalized twist, coming off like a mix of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Raging Slab with the strong Southern Rock flavours on offer.

‘Tonight I Let The Bottle Down’ is reminiscent of the classy Alt-Country pioneered by Green on Red and Uncle Tupelo. While the preceding tracks are undeniably great, this one feels a little more mature. There’s a Psychedelic moodiness present which certainly surprised this reviewer, thankfully pleasantly so. Remember Ween’s 12 Golden Country Greats and tracks like ‘Piss up a Rope’? ‘Out Of My League’ feels similar, a fond send up of the genre and the stereotypes of folks from the southern US states. A jaunty barnstorming little number guaranteed to put a smile on your face and spring in your step. Hank Mills and Dick Jennings’ ‘Little Ole Wine Drinker Me’ the album’s other cover, which has been sung by the likes of Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Charlie Walker and Lefty Frizzell is the heaviest sounding song on the record with a rougher, ramshackle almost Garage Rock sensibility, albeit of the Grungy variety, think Mudhoney and Denver’s criminally overlooked The Fluid. What is in essence a somewhat daft slice of novelty Country-Pop is rendered into something far more substantial in Nine Pound Hammer’s very capable hands proving a fitting conclusion to the record.

I’m not entirely sure I’ve managed to do Too Outlaw for Outlaw Country justice as its not

necessarily music I tend to gravitate to much, if at all; though that could be cultural what with me being English. However, what I will say is that if you’re looking for something joyous and rabble-rousingly distracting in an increasingly stressful world, then you’ve come to the right place.