With this auspicious debut in hand, Lafayette’s Howdies show that they rightfully belong in the national alt-country league alongside such established aggregations as the Gourds, Scott H. Biram and the Woodbox Gang. Like the aforementioned, they too stand at the corner where hillbilly string bands, folk, blues, hokum, ragtime and scruffy garage rock intersect—in essence, a quirky modern day jug band without the jug. Their ragged sonic textures involve a loose snare, percussive gadgets, kazoos, harmonica, guitar and string-snapping doghouse bass, but they constantly shift and swell, making each track distinctly different than the last.

Many originals are delightfully dark, retaining a high murder-and-mayhem quotient comparable to that of bluegrass punksters Split Lip Rayfeld. Yet, it’s not all scenes from a grisly, taped-off crime scene. There are stomps, drunken binges and fuzzed-out spaghetti westerns, not to mention fast mamas, eerie phantoms and medicine show skits. Add the fact that most tunes are highly danceable and the end result is a joyous package that works on many levels.