Barstool Messiah

Together for over a decade now, Barstool Messiah shows no signs of letting up on its fourth effort, Bastards of Bacchus. Taking a few cues from the MC5, these revved-up garage-rockers even kick out a killer take of that group's "Rock Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)." As might be expected from its title, Bacchus offers up plenty of songs about drinking; there's even a Charles Bukowski reference on the chugging rocker "Long Time Gone," which also features some soulful backing vocals by Erica Brown. Frontman Nick Plumber's deep growl works perfectly on these thirteen cuts, most of which are heavy and in-your-face; an exception is the dark and spooky take on Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire."