Generals deserve at least the bronze medal

The Baptist Generals sound like they've been on a three-day bender, and apparently, when they haven't immersed themselves in liquor, they have immersed themselves in Tom Waits records. Putting a modern take on the folk-blues the way Califone put a modern take on bluegrass, The Baptist Generals embrace a back-porch feel, though in their world, back-porch doesn't mean laid-back. Frontman Chris Flemmons hurls a couple of expletives and, apparently, his guitar after "Ay Distress." Don't worry, Chris. The take made the album. For the record, The Baptist Generals' back porch is located in Denton, Tex., and like many artists from Texas, they are a genre unto themselves. They aren't afraid of their originality though, just of their bad personal habits. Their lives aren't settled, but then again, neither are their rhythms. Finding themselves on Sub Pop of all labels, The Baptist Generals fit within the parameters of the pensive, song-oriented outfits that straddle the line between singer-songwriter revelations and worldly declarations. After all, just because it's Sub Pop doesn't mean you have to get into the mosh pit, and if they emerge from their bender, they will be the better for it.