Say Something Nasty

Artist: Nashville Pussy
Album: Say Something Nasty
Label: Artemis Records
Release year: 2002

Take equal parts AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Motorhead, shake (don't stir), and you'll get the band known as Nashville Pussy. This four-piece ensemble -- whose name is taken from the intro to the "Double Live Gonzo" version of Ted Nugent's "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" -- features the husband-and-wife team of Blaine Cartwright (rhythm guitar and vocals) and Ruyter Suys (lead guitar), along with Jeremy Thompson (drums) and new bass player Katie Lynn Campbell. Together, they create a bluesy, garage-y, riff-laden sound that's cruder than even the schoolboy sexual double-meanings of AC/DC and The Motor City Madman's most memorable moments.

With songs such as "Jack Shack" and "The Bitch Just Kicked Me Out," the redneck, heavy metal lover hidden in many of us will be more than satisfied with Say Something Nasty, the band's third full-length recording. There is no denying the fact that Suys has all the on-stage mannerisms of Angus Young, but she also has the six-string chops to back it up (complete with her and Young's guitar of choice, the Gibson SG). And while occasionally Cartwright seems to be struggling with lyrical arrangements, the musicianship of the band as a whole is strong and satisfying. All 15 songs on Nasty never stray far from the sound that made Nashville Pussy famous: infectious hard rock complete with scotch-and-cigarette vocals and crunching guitars. If you like straightforward heavy metal and hard rock completely devoid of nu-metal rap crap, whiney Pearl Jam political correctness or whatever the hell it is Metallica plays these days, pick this CD up. You'll find yourself listening to it over and over as you suit up and prepare for a lengthy, off-road epic on that nasty route you always say you'll "never do again."