I have spent at least three or four years of my life in Tennessee and over that period of time the list of things I like about the state has failed to grow very long. After hearing the debut LP from this Middle Tennessee band, however, I was forced to add one more item to that list.

From the opening moments of Bang, Green Rode Shotgun grab your attention with a tense chord progression up the neck of their guitars before diving into the punchy rhythms that drive this album. Throughout the album the music maintains a light feel; driven forward by the drumming of Don Sergio and grounded by John Lane’s bouncy baselines as the guitar work of David Henderson and Shea Callahan intertwine into a tight mass of jangly chords and melodic guitar riffs.

Despite the highly infectious grooves presented by the band musically, some of the catchiest moments occur when vocalist Jason Johnson is accompanied by the incredibly inviting backup vocals. I challenge anyone to resist joining in on the "ooh la la" part of "Hopeless Crusades." Every song on Bang is suited for singing along loudly while banging out rhythms on a steering wheel during a spontaneous car ride down a long stretch of road and after one listen to "Nothing New" you will know that this result had to be what the band was going for from the start.