The evolution of Swampmeat Family Band continues apace. When the Birmingham outfit released their incendiary third album, Muck, three years ago, it marked the culmination of the kind of vision that frontman Dan Finnemore had always had for them; having returned from the U.S. after a spell as a key member of Philadelphia rockers Low Cut Connie, he was burning with ideas and inspiration, channeling a renewed creative energy into a new-look version of the garage band he’d formed, as simply Swampmeat, with drummer T-Bird Jones in 2006.

Muck certainly felt like a family affair, one that saw the group expand to a five-piece and broaden their musical palette, boldening their bolshier side with brass, lending their forays into country some authenticity with the addition of pedal steel and, by welcoming vocalist Joni Coyne into the fold, providing Finnemore with a new foil. The new accoutrements came together to form the basis of Swampmeat 2.0, a slicker, sharper band anchored by Finnemore’s handsome arrangements and melodic sensibilities. “The response to Muck was really cool,” he reflects, “and that opened the door for us to step things up a little bit. Make a different, more textured record, where I’d think about what we could add, but also what we could take away.” Enjoy the tune!