Riverboat Gamblers
Smash/Grab EP
Paper + Plastick

I’ve written about more Texas punk bands this year than I ever thought I would, really, so if I’m going to do it again, I might as well take on the granddaddy of ‘em all, the Riverboat Gamblers, whose new four-song EP, Smash/Grab, is near eight minutes of pure soil n’ snot pop that only they can deliver. In fact, what it really delivers is that old school Gamblers sound we haven’t heard since 2003′s Something to Crow About, that raw, loose, up-tempo ribaldry and shout-along savagery, which ought to wash away any uneasy feelings you may have had toward the commercial leanings of 2009′s Underneath the Owl. Each of the songs here (“The Ol’ Smash and Grab,” “Parasite Friend,” “Maggie Lea,” “Anything But You”) ooze with the manic energy these mavericks have been known to consistently unleash on stage, which means there’s no bells, no whistles, and no slick production. Just sweaty, ageless, gutsy rock n’ roll inspired by — and inspiring — youthful indiscretion one petty crime at a time.

Listen to “Anything But You” from the Smash/Grab EP!

I realize there’s still over a month to go in 2009, but hardly anything good ever comes out in December. The rock n’ roll release season always seems to peak in October and after that it’s a slow slide into a new year and, hopefully, new good music. So I like to get a jump on my end of the year list in the hopes that it will provide you with some killer bands and albums to catch up with before the year is out. It also gives me a chance to try and remember all the new shit I heard over the last 11 months. That’s not an easy task. In fact, some of this stuff may not even be from 2009, but so it goes.

As with all best-of lists, this one has its disclaimers. The big one here is that this list includes only the albums I listened to, so if I didn’t include Slayer’s new album or Immortal’s new album it’s because I haven’t heard them…yet. So don’t get your panties in a knot if there are some glaring omissions. And, of course, this list is exclusive to the music I listen to; it’s my favourites for the year…and hopefully some of yours.

Oh, and why 39? Because it’s one better than 40. If 666 is the number of the beast, think of 39 as the number of the beard.

All right, enough screwing around. Let’s get to it…

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