Flexx Bronco is a hard-driving quartet from San Francisco. They play a kind of gritty, blue collar rock and roll that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with that city. It’s sleazy and greasy and balls to the wall. They remind me a lot of the Supersuckers and Nashville Pussy. (This is high praise coming from me.) They’ve been around for about 15 years, and I assume that Volume 3 is their third full length. (So far, I’ve found Volume 2 but not Volume 1.) I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the album’s cover. It’s a man in bondage gear with the desert as a backdrop. It’s like a cross between one of those Mexican wrestlers and The Gimp from Pulp Fiction. Fortunately, it’s not really any indication of the music to follow.

The record opens with a brief instrumental called “Mors Non Separabit”. It’s Latin and means roughly, “death will not separate”. Things get going in earnest with “Blondetourage”. When the speed gets cranked up and the floor toms start rumbling, this definitely reaches punk levels of intensity. It’s also the first of a handful of songs about problems with women. “Nightmare” and “Vallejo” are the other stand-out girl trouble tracks. “Kavorka” is a Latvian word for “lure of the animal”. It’s about having something that the ladies can’t resist, and is probably a Seinfeld reference. “Deadman” gets bluesy and chugs along a bit like Social Distortion’s “Drug Train”.

“Heart on the Floor” is a 50’s style ballad. The plucked guitar is so drenched in reverb that I suspect it left a puddle. The echo soaked vocals and mandolin flourishes really make this song stand out from the rest. (There’s also a faster, full blown rock version of it later on.) “Filthy’s Lullaby” feels like Flexx Bronco’s stab at hair metal. Second last track “Deathbaby” might be the best song on an album filled with good songs. Volume 3 is hip shaking, beer drinking music at its finest. Flexx Bronco is the kind of band you want to see on Friday night after a long week at work. Recommended for fans of Eddie Spaghetti and Mike Ness. If straight-up rock and roll is what you crave, look no further than Flexx Bronco Volume 3.