The highly-anticipated and much-teased new album from Bilmuri has definitely been worth the wait. A departure from his previous swancore works, Johnny Franck’s AMERICAN MOTOR SPORTS is a clever and masterful blend of metal and country that simultaneously (in pure Bilmuri fashion) makes fun of country culture and aesthetic, while incorporating the best parts of into something absurd, heavy, fun and emotional.

So, y’know… a Bilmuri album.

A push and pull between the lighthearted aesthetics and titles against the vulnerable and often-pained subject matter of the lyrics has always been a staple of Bilmuri’s work, and AMERICAN MOTOR SPORTS carries on this tradition. Much of it is perfect sing-along, and the lyrics revolve around the end of a skittish relationship. Opening with “BETTER HELL (Thicc boi)” we get the infectious chorus, “So when they ask who hurt you / I point the finger at myself but I think of you.” While “MISS ME” hits a severe emotional intensity with the lines, “You’re better now, you doubled back / You wanted out, and I gave you that / So don’t blur the lines, ’cause there’s no second tries.” And the choruses of “ALL GAS” and “BLINDSIDED,” in pure country fashion, demand to be sung along to.

While the tracks veer back and forth between metal and country, a close listening to any given one reveals elements of both genres working together, such as metal riffs and country finger-picking weaving together. We still get moments when one or the other shines out, such as the breakdown that rounds out “SPINNIN’ YOU AROUND” and the sax-laced guitar solo in “BLINDSIDED.” Country western twang spices up “TALKIN’ 2 UR GHOST” (a sound Bilmuri toyed with on 2020’s EGGY POCKET), and crescendos with a fiddle accompaniment that just feels right.

And if these ten tracks aren’t enough country-infused metal/emo, fans are in luck. nothing, nowhere’s Hell or Highwater, (released on the same day) also blends emo and country… which is either a fluke, or the beginning of a new genre for rednecks to drink to after their dog dies and their truck leaves. Primarily, though, both of these albums are guilt-free country, for those who want some twang that isn’t associated with right-wing propaganda… and the craftsmanship on both is superior to the pop-country on the radio.

So for this one, put on your cowboy boots, yee a couple haws, smash a Bud Light and hop in the pit.

Photo Credit: Spotify