SXSW Records

Adult Rodeo

Tough Titty (Kinson Music) Although their moniker sounds more like an HBO Real Sex segment than a band, Adult Rodeo's fourth album packs in more provocations than a month of lonely, late-night TV leer sessions. Initially borne out of the Shimmy-Disc school of subterranean twist und twang, the band's sound has evolved considerably since their 1998 move to Austin. Adult Rodeo boasts three distinctive songwriters in guitarist/vocalist Rob Erickson, guitarist Toby Scroggins, and bassist/vocalist Stephanie Mankins. Having Brown Whörnet's Phillip White on the drum riser doesn't hurt, either. Erickson and co-writer Kevin Blechdom grab you by the boo-boo right away with "Buildings," a rollicking cow-punk merry-go-round with almost enough curves to qualify as a pocket suite. By contrast, Mankins' "Peterpan" is a soothing oddball nod laced with shades of Galaxie 500. Not to be outdone, Scroggins offers "Florida," a spaghetti-Western-flavored guitar face-off chugging down 95 South. Tough Titty's strongest one-two punch comes with the superfuzz beat box funk of "Invisible Snake Charmers" followed by "Thru the Door," a fun ode to bees that renders angry hardcore impulses goofy and spry. "Norman" starts out as a balls-out Austin rock anthem before a jarring-yet-appropriate dip into a feedback-soaked bridge. Adult Rodeo partakes in a wide variety of musical styles, but Tough Titty emphasizes songs over tangents, making it a more cohesive album than the group's earlier, more experimental work. They've got flair with flavor, and that's much more gratifying than watching flabby swingers cavort at a dude ranch. (Wednesday, March 17, 1am @ Saké on Sixth)