Cross Canadian Ragweed

Cross Canadian Ragweed

(Universal South) Cross Canadian Ragweed -- the name is an amalgam of the band members last names -- has been burning up roads from their original Yukon, Okla., home base for a few years now, releasing three self-released discs before being signed to Nashville mover/shaker Tony Brown's Universal South Records. Stylistically, these new Texans likely have the alt-country tag hung on them, but more often than not, they eschew twangy guitars for heavy riffs. There's scarcely a fiddle or pedal steel to be heard in their songs. Their lyrics show a maturity that surpasses their years; "Carry You Home" is a well-articulated thumb in the eye to religious hypocrites, while "Walls of Huntsville" is a flight of fancy about a life gone wrong. "Freedom" is a blast of Seventies rock bombast that evokes 9/11 indirectly. Lead guitarist Cody Canada supplies fluid licks while never hogging the spotlight for too long. Not that Cross Canadian couldn't use a little more in the way of hooky songwriting; their songs meander at times, and would benefit from being put on the tuneup rack and tightened down here and there. Still, it's no surprise that they're on the ascent. They're young, they can all play, their songs have a strong lyrical appeal, and they tour their butts off. It's meat-and-potatoes rock in the kindest sense of the word, and the country influences in their songs sound more sincere than many of their contemporaries. (Sunday, Sept. 29, 5:15-6pm, Austin stage.)