SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS

The Kudzu Ranch

[Kudzu]

Southern Culture on the Skids has been providing its own particular perspective on the lowbrow side of the South for more than two decades now, from dirt-track dates to banana pudding, all set to a raucous, party-ready amalgam of rockabilly, blues, surf music and whatever else crosses its members’ minds. The band’s 13th album is a brisk race through hick-rock character sketch (“My Neighbor Burns Trash”), spooky swamp pop (“Montague’s Mystery Them”), a jumping ode to love and BBQ (“Pig Pickin’”), Bo Diddley-infused call-and-response giddy-up (“Busy Road”) and a couple of surf-rock instrumentals. But the hands-down highlights of this outing come when bass player Mary Huff grabs the mic and wails her way through the hooky big-beat pop of “Highlife” and the salacious gem “Bad Boys.” There are no surprises here, just 39 minutes of Southern Culture on the Skids doing what it does best. –Stuart Munro