"That old flag" features in the lyrics to the second album from these Alabamans, but not in the way you might expect from a southern rock band. Instead, in Flags, Bains sees it "twist and flap in the wind, the way it did over the smacking lips and cracking whips of white men selling black men". Dereconstructed, from its title down, is a ferociously anti-traditionalist affair, taking aim at "ancient truths and ugly old lies". Musically, too, it's different. If it has clear antecedents in 80s "cowpunk", its sound is distinct: instead of the oaky guitar tone of most southern rock, the Glory Fires opt for a trebly, overdriven sound – as chords fade you can almost hear the tone fraying and disintegrating. It's like the difference between whisky and meth, old south v new. Maybe the pace flags a little after a ferocious start – The Company Man is as pure a shot of adrenaline as a guitar band will release this year – but that's just a quibble about a terrific album.