Mayday — Bushido Karaoke

On the third Mayday record, Ted Stevens (guitarist of Cursive) leads his bandmates and a small cross-section of the Saddle Creek family toward some snappy, classic Americana and countrified rock. Most of these songs hover at three minutes and under, allowing a raw-recorded, yet vibrant roundup of feisty violins, clunky brass and saloon piano to bring these death tunes to life. Stevens isn't as brooding as Nick Cave, though at times he conjures up the looseness of Elvis Costello and the wavering Lou Reed for honky-tonk rock 'n' roll numbers like "Booze & Pills" and "I'm Not Afraid to Die." And though it ponders death, Bushido Karaoke is perhaps one of the least angst-y or precious records to come from the SC catalog.