Note from Autopsy IV: I am out this weekend babysitting my new puppy so I’ve lined up a whole slew of guest writers for the week. I hope y’all enjoy them and the music they bring to our attention as much as I am. I’ll be back early next week.

Today’s guest writer is Michael Dauphin. He’s the editor of Dude’s Magazine and also contributes to punknews.org a site I frequent and since you come around this site, you should too.

Ninja Gun hails from Valdosta, Georgia. That’s a few hours south of Athens (home of the Drive-By Truckers) and about an hour north of Gainesville, Florida (home of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers). In fact, Ninja Gun’s sound falls somewhere in between those respective artists as well. Their newest album, Restless Rubes, twinkles and shines like Petty’s unmistakable twangy pop, and opens up and rocks with similar honesty and passion that fans of the Truckers hold so dear.

The lyrical content on Restless Rubes tends to focus on dealing with socio-political ideals of The South. The listener can almost picture singer/guitarist, J. Coody, coming up with ideas for songs and finding lyrical (and internal) inspiration by analyzing the balance between his work as an aspiring rock n’roll road warrior and his other job, working on his father’s peanut farm.

Bottom line: Restless Rubes is power-pop, southern rock affair that has the potential to win over punks, hipsters, and straight-forward rock n’rollers. Don’t waste time figuring out where (or if) you fall in those categories—just give it a listen.

Ninja Gun – Restless Rubes
Ninja Gun – 8 Miles Out
Ninja Gun – Permanent Press

Ninja Gun’s Official Site, Buy Restless Rubes