The Crosstops

Cloverleaf Fandango (2002)

moldy

Howdy there punknews.org readers! Your faithful runner Moldy out here flushing out the smokies and checking out the ladies, and boy do I have a big bad bear story for you. It's this new band called The Crosstops. They are a pop punk/rockabilly/country hybrid that have a new "theme" album out that is nothin' but songs about truckin'. Now usually there is nothing I like more than a man singing a love song to his rig, but this album just don't do it for me, ya know.

The music is actually really good on some of the songs, and its real interestin' how they blend these three styles together, but the lyrics are just plain silly, and they don't keep the sparse humor that is there over repeat lyrics. Yea, I know that this album is just for fun and is supposed to be a joke, but it just ain't that funny.

There are a couple gems on here especially "Tree Huggers" a song about beating up them goddamn long haired hippies, and the covers of "Truck Driving Man" and "Rhinestone Cowboy" are really cool, but overall this feels like they tried to hard and just wound up fryin' the engine block. Pick this up if you are a big country or rockabily fan and want to hear a band that is working with a new sound. I think I would like this better if they would work on the lyrics and maybe not make them "serious" but either funnier or at least not entirely about trucks and the truck driving lifestyle, or what they imagine the lifestyle involves. Good (first? wish they sent me a bio sheet) effort from these guys but it just doesn't get that shipment in on time, if ya know what I mean. Now if y'all excuse me I've got me a hankerin' to go watch "Smoky and the Bandit" and drink some PBR, 10-4 good buddies.