The K Is Silent is a minor miracle, a parody album that can also hold its own with the songs it sends up. All credit goes to Dierks Bentley and his crackerjack road band who all invented alter egos for Hot Country Knights, a group that started as a 90s country covers band and turned into the genres own Spinal Tap. The connection to the Tap is underscored by Asphalt, a punning ballad that evokes memories of Big Bottom. Dirty jokes are a specialty of Hot Country Knights -- they dont bother to disguise the double entendre at the heart of You Make It Hard, a lovelorn duet with Terri Clark -- and that trait could seem stiflingly smutty if it werent for the clever kick and knowing precision of the groups original material. Pick Her Up is a pitch-perfect bit of rocking country enlivened by a cameo from Travis Tritt, Moose Knuckle Shuffle nails the line dance craze, and Then It Rained is an epic send-up of Garth Brooks at his most serious. Knowing The Thunder Rolls and Boot Scootin Boogie well will certainly heighten the appreciation of The K Is Silent, but the music is so lively that its appealing outside of the confines of parody. Still, the silliness is infectious, and its also smart; witness The USA Begins with Us, which manages not to offend either side of the red and blue divide by emphasizing the idiocy of the Hot Country Knights. This blend of brains, brawn, and bawdiness all sounds invigorating when delivered by this band of bozos, making The K Is Silent an ideal soundtrack for good and stupid times. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rovi