Album Review: Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants - All Hat And No Cattle

From time with punk rock stayers No Use For A Name and sold out arenas all over the world with Foo Fighters to punk supergroup/cover band Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, Chris Shiflett is obviously a man passionate about his music, who will take any outlet on offer. And when you're in a band as big as Foo Fighters, those outlets are probably a little more numerous than for your average journeyman guitarist. But make no mistake, Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants is no vanity project.

Even the title, All Hat And No Cattle, reads like a pre-emptive strike to any hardcore country fans who might think Shiflett is just a genre tourist. There's plenty of musical cattle to back up the hat. Even Shiflett, barely in his forties, brings a world weary feel to his vocals that gives the album a timeless country sound, while never sounding old fashioned. And no song does it better than album closer Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?. A plucked guitar solo and driving horn section tribute to Hank Williams and The Dead Peasants' firm country roots.

It would be easy to write off All Hat And No Cattle as nothing more than the indulgence of a musician taking a country holiday from his day job in the world's biggest rock band. But the genuine affection for the genre betrays the album (and band) for what it really is – a legit country record by a legit country band who both embrace all the rules of the genre while still making something original and outright boot scootin' fun.