Country Punk
tagStarted 1996Peak 1999-2008Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Honky-tonk and hard country played with the speed, distortion and snarl of punk rock. Telecaster twang and pedal steel collide with overdriven guitars, hammering drums and shouted, whiskey-raw vocals. Lyrics dwell on hard living, damnation and dead-end towns; the result is loud, sweaty, fast and unmistakably country at the marrow.
History
Distinct from early-1980s cowpunk, this harder, post-punk-era strain coalesced in the late 1990s through Drive-By Truckers, who grew out of Hood and Cooley's punk band Adam's House Cat, and Texas barnstormers Old 97's. Hank Williams III split his sets between honky-tonk and a thrashing hellbilly attack, while Slobberbone and Lucero pushed the loud, country-rooted sound deep into the 2000s.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Far_to_Care
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_to_Hell_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobberbone
- https://americansongwriter.com/old-97s-barrier-reef/