Koe Wetzel
is perhaps an inevitability: a country singer raised on '90s grunge. It's the future that
Aaron Lewis
hinted at, but
Hell Paso
relies on dull, thudding power chords, echoed arpeggios, and self-pitying lyrics delivered in fifth harmonies.
Wetzel
doesn't bother with existential angst; he laments the women who snort all his candy and sleep with him for the money. His "Cabo" plight strikes at the paradox at the heart of
: the keys are minor and the melodies drag, but the record gives off good-time vibes, laid-back heavy music for hedonism and hangovers alike. It's certainly "interesting" to hear alt-rock being spun into party music but the particulars -- the cumbersome riffs,
's inability to choose a more descriptive word other than one that begins with "F" -- make
a drag. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine