In Brief

Cowpunk lives! This Texas quartet’s big-label debut is looser and punchier than most of the neo-country rock around these days, though also more limited. But even when the giddy gallop seems one-dimensional, the clever wordplay and unsentimental eye on modern life remain catchy. Exene Cervenkova makes an appropriate guest appearance on the closing “Four Leaf Clover.” The group plays the Troubadour on Aug. 6.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

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* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: https://www.latimes.com/soundclips