Video: 'Stump' from Waylon Speed's debut album Georgia Overdrive. 2010.

I've been looking for alt-country and country bands that bite since Slobberbone broke up. Waylon Speed comes as close as any I've found. Some of the tunes on "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades," the Vermont group's new album, might just leave gnaw marks on your ears. "Riding for the Brand," in particular, sounds like death metal country. And "Fall of Balancing Rock" is a flat-out nasty guitar slinger anthem. I like those tunes, but I prefer their three-quarter speed fastballs. "Amplifier Switches," for example, sounds like an Eagles tune if the Southern California icons had [...]