One of my all time favorite Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes is #65 simply titled Bart Oates . Unlike most of the other episodes which revolve around anthropomorphized fast food crime fighters; their reluctant deadbeat neighbor Carl is called out by the ghost of Bart Oates (Pro Bowl center for the New York Giants) for selling knock-off jerseys. Come to find out, Oates is actually a cybernetic killing machine and more importantly The Natural Extension Concept’s leadman Cyrus Shahmir worked the soundboards for said episode. One of the few perks of living in the ATL is proximity to Williams Street, the studio behind nearly all Adult Swim cartoons and an abundance of psych rock purists not sure what catastrophic tear in space time will result from crossing their streams with that of Southern Rock. I capitalize those two words because I hail from The South – 'nuff said.

The N.E.C. are treading the same swampy waters as local peers The Black Lips and Gringo Star, though they claim that they “have no peers” on their Facebook page . Shahmir’s IMDD page says he goes by Dick also – doesn’t mean we can’t poke fun at ourselves right? On their brand new LP Pineapple, whose cover is graced by a fine Southern belle indeed, our power trio takes their guitar overload to a whole new territory – the quiet/loud axiom. The Pixies perfected it but it’s clear on B-side “Any Place You Want” they revel on leading you down familiar classic rock chord structures before initiating an orgasmic implosion. “GTRRVLL” is simply a synthed up primer for “Creatures Flaming”, a rousing nail-biter barely tethered to the ground by murky power chords. If you do pick up the vinyl, which just dropped today, give 12-minute closer “Loralene” your full and undivided attention. It’s what Skynyrd would sound like after reading Pitchfork.