Rich Hope — ...Is Gonna Whip It On Ya

There seems to be an influx of great, punky alt.country coming out of Vancouver. Maybe it's because of the west coast's main city's proximity to the prairies (or the Calgary Stampede, for that matter). Call the spiky twang a reaction to the gray doldrums of Van City, perhaps — and Rich Hope (along with his band, the Evil Doers) is one of the main men bringing it.

Longtime fans of Hope's energetic performances will be relieved to know that his sound has translated very well to album, particularly on the first half of ...Is Gonna Whip It On Ya.

Sure, recordings can't exactly capture the sweaty good times of a live show (the reek of PBR notwithstanding), but "Let's Jump Around Some" will definitely inspire the listener to do just that in their living rooms. The title track drips with old-time harmonica, and it's really hard to keep one's head from nodding along to the honky-tonk piano in "You're An Ice Queen, Baby." Yet one of the hallmarks of good alt.country is a drowsy blues influence and, true to its title, Hope's "Death Bed Blues" fulfills this requirement considerably.

At nine tracks, ...Is Gonna Whip It On Ya is pretty much the perfect length — long enough for a burst of uplifting southern soul, but not so long that it gets tedious or repetitive. Granted, those who are already biased against twang-rock aren't going to be swayed much by Rich Hope's exuberance, but if you need a soundtrack for your next hipster hoedown, then this music will fit like a perfect old cowboy boot.

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