ROCK • A • RAMA

Like most post-punk country-rock bands, the Beat Farmers are more than slightly twisted; unlike many of ’em, they can also write songs and play their instruments. Their best stuff suggests the concerns and attitudes of Kinky Friedman crossed with the popcraft of the Hoodoo Gurus, and they even have the good sense to cover a Tom Waits tune from his currently-out-of-print Closing Time LP.