Opening with a whiskey-soaked howl leading into a maelstrom of fury, Liar's Trial roars out of the gate -- guns blazing, outlaw flag proudly waving -- on Songs About Momma, Trains, Trucks, Prison, and Gettin' Drunk, the band's sophomore LP.  "Interestingly enough, there are a ton of similarities between punk rock and country--especially in the outlaw mindset," says vocalist/guitarist/banjoist Bryan."No one wants to be told what to do or how to do it, especially when it comes to the music. A whole new generation of punks are getting into country. I have noticed that once folks start to approach 30, that country gene kicks in and I have seen a lot of folks who played punk in their teens and twenties start playing country or bluegrass later on."This mindset, this push-back against authority, this refusal to play by anyone else's rules, permeates the band's every aspect. While the band's debut, Cowboys From Hell, cheekily name-checked Pantera, Songs About Momma... is a reference to outlaw country legend David Allen Coe's song"You Never Even Called Me By My Name," in which Coe lists the elements of"the perfect country and western song." (And Coe is an authority on the last item in the list--when Bryan met Coe in 2014, the night proved so raucous Bryan couldn’t touch alcohol for the next eight months). Pulling influences from sources as disparate as Waylon Jennings, the New York Dolls, Bauhaus, the Isley Brothers, Sam Cooke, Merle Haggard and Nick Cave, Bryan--along with guitarist Johnson, bassist Erv, current drummer Patrick and original drummer Chuck (who appears on both the band's studio records) have crafted a unique sound that is hard to define, but easy to enjoy.Songs About Momma... was recorded in one day in 2013, just before Engel left for a new job in Washington, D.C. and, as the band had exhausted their budget in the studio, they teamed up with Milwaukee's One Track Mind Records for the album's February 26 release--one month shy of three years from the recording session. The album, as mentioned, starts with the kick-in-the-teeth opener of"Hard, Hard Livin'," leading into the Tom Waits-on-uppers vibe of"Tomorrow You'll Be Diggin' Your Own Hole.""Bad Dreams, Coc*ine & Whiskey" continues the tirade, before slowing down on the Lucero-leaning, acoustic-driven"I Don't Care." "Early on, we used to never really listen to each other," Bryan said of the album's creation."We all came from different schools of musical thought and never stood back to see how we could make them gel into something cohesive. As you listen to the record, Side A is decidedly more 'punk,' whereas Side B is more 'country.' I think [the country songs are] a good reflection of where we are going as a band. As we get older, I hate to say it, but it is getting harder to play full sets at break-neck speeds. We are all finding the enjoyment in playing and writing songs that are more melody-driven."Indeed, the record's back half eases off the speed and amps up the twang."Birth-Cursed Man" features some fancy fretwork by Erv and jagged start-stop guitars by Johnson, as well as perhaps the record's best example of Bryan's unlikely sense of melody."I know a man can’t win every time," he rasps,"but it’s gettin’ kinda hard comin’ in dead last over every finish line."The bluesy swagger of"Anaconda" boasts a particularly interesting backstory from Bryan and Johnson's pre-Liar's Trial touring days. Referring not to the snake but to the mining town in Montana, the lyrics tell the story of an eerily-quiet, packed show next door to a mental institution, a tainted water supply, a possibly-haunted hotel room, a dust-up between some locals and folk singer Graham Lindsey involving a spilled drink and a mess of golf clubs, and a 90-foot tall illuminated statue of the Virgin Mary. It's really quite the story."Songs About Momma, Trains, Trucks, Prison and Gettin' Drunk" was released February 26, 2016 on One Track Mind Records. For more information, go to: www.liarstrial.com or www.facebook.com/liarstrial. Liar's Trial can also be reached at liarstrial@gmail.com.