You see a picture of some guy with a flannel, sideburns and a hat surrounded by cans of PBR and you think, “great, more hipsters being ‘ironic’.” Then you hear the first few seconds of “Howl (Ya Doin?),” the opening track on the new American Speedway album, A Bigger Boat (due out April 26th through Hostile City Distribution), and realize this is serious ball-breakin’ rock!

Self-described as “beer guzzlin’ punk rock n roll” these four Philadelphians bring the dirt, dust and destruction. Essentially a blast of hyperactive blues-rock, A Bigger Boat starts at full steam ahead and never stops until it gets cut off like a drunk enjoying himself too much in public. Lead vocalist Mike Kerchner has a bit of the Lemmy in his voice (except Kerchner sounds like he can breathe) which only makes it easier to compare American Speedway to old Motörhead and adds a touch of the metallic to their sound. Joined by new lead guitarist Lorraine “Dirty” McGurty, they provide an explosion of pentatonic scales and head-bobbing speed with plenty of catchy choruses about driving, murdering people, being an old bum and other fun things.

The nice thing about A Bigger Boat is that it doesn’t stay past its welcome. The songs are quick, maybe sometimes a bit too short, but each one is exactly what it needs to be and placed where it needs to go. “Call Me Night Rider” and “Get off the Cross” are just two of my personal picks, but the whole album is so tight there is no need to skip to these first; just sit back, grab a beer (preferably something a bit better than PBR, sorry guys…) and get into the kickass licks. There is no token ballad on here to screw up the flow and attempt to be sentimental—anything the band has to say they certainly don’t feel the need to slow down for it—just kickass rockin’ tunes from start to finish.

A Bigger Boat is really a lot of good fun; there isn’t much to say beyond that. Sometimes simplicity is where it’s at. American Speedway like to call themselves “real rock and roll” and their electrified semi-throwback sound certainly warrants that description. Punkified bar-rock is also a good one, if I may be so bold as to offer my own humble attempt to label them. What they do, they do well. It’s nothing new, but the attitude and presentation is just right; they’re having fun and so am I listening to their stuff. This band sounds like more than just a rowdy Friday night at the local dive; it sounds like a gang of demon-bikers coming to get you.