When your band's lineup includes a bassist named Gwomper and a go-go-dancing backing vocalist named Beau Beau, you know you've got something original. The self-proclaimed "Hickoid southern punk moshers" of Avail have offered their peculiar flavor of soccer-chanting, wagon-lagging rock for nearly a decade, resulting in a thick catalog of lo-fi joybuzzers that generally have been easier on the feet than on the ears. In crafting its latest effort, Front Porch Stories, the Richmond, Virginia, quintet spent a staggering month in the studio, a move akin to recording Tusk for most punk bands. Hell, in the old days, Avail could've cranked out half a dozen records in that time and still had room left over for B-sides. But Porch marks a new era for the group, one in which it's not afraid to use (shudder) violins. Fortunately, in concert the band tosses its newfound artistic ambitions out the window and rocks as though abandoning the garage was never an option.
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