Ugly Stick

Getting past the masochistic name Ugly Stick is no small task. But on the other side of first impressions are four veteran cow-punks who capture the beer-soaked nihilism of the worst dive bar in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio — and the stupid fun of stumbling across psych-out guitar pedal action and harmonies that work, despite all efforts to the contrary. Ugly Stick scrounged up some notice on the Ohio roots-rock scene in the '90s, before going on a fourteen-year hiatus broken this year by Still Glistening, a choogling set of sub-three-minute, twangy punk and power-pop workouts that celebrate and/or satirize all manner of Midwestern dead-enders. Druggies, dealers and pick-up artists, all you 24-hour party people on a budget: Here's a rock & roll band to meet your sardonic, trashy needs.