Additional personnel: Andrew Williams (various instruments); Jon Rauhouse (steel guitar); Jon Brion (Vox organ).

Recorded at Kingsway, New Orleans, Louisiana & Sound Factory, Hollywood, California.

Texas troubadours Old 97's moved farther away from their traditional C&W sound on their 1999 release, Fight Songs, instead incorporating warmly distorted guitars and crunchy rhythms into their brash pop songs. Thankfully for fans of the band, the terrific songwriting is still there, but the sound is a little more polished than the twang-a-billy bombast of their previous album, Too Far to Care. The heavy grit of the lead track, "Jagged," is augmented by Rhett Miller and Murray Hammond's bright vocals, whereas the rhumba stylings of "What We Talk About" slinks along like two strangers locked in a tango. Songs seem more thoroughly constructed this time around, relying less on pure bravado and more on structure. That works well for the most part, but there's something lacking that was unrelenting and instantly likable in their previous release. That being said, Fight Songs is still a bright and worthwhile album with as many strong songs as any of their releases. ~ Zac Johnson

Old 97s' effortless way with a hook has always separated the band from its brethren in the so-called "insurgent country" ranks. Choruses, harmonies, and sheer hummability of tune have always been as important to this Dallas quartet as setting the post-punk honky-tonk on fire. This tunesmanship rises to the fore on FIGHT SONGS. The group's second major-label full-length is unquestionably Old 97s' most "pop" effort yet. But that doesn't mean that the music rocks any less fiercely or that its heartbreak twang is any less severe.

FIGHT SONGS incorporates Old 97s' modern-rock attack into the C&W tradition. Ken Bethea's guitar bleeds distortion all over vocalist Rhett Miller's melancholy yearnings on "Jagged." Bassist Murry Hammond knowingly rewrites a Louvin Brothers classic on "Crash On The Barrelhead." "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" is a perfect example of Old 97s' craft, with a hook that screams L.A. pop, rootsy guitars that bring to mind such Californian post-punkers as The Blasters and X, and the general well-produced and poppy feel of R.E.M, circa 1984.