If the twang is the thang, as guitar legend Duane Eddy put it in 1960, then Brian Connelly has what it takes. A sideman for alterna-country diva Neko Case, he also has his own instrumental trio, Atomic 7, who shred a Canadian cowboy surf wave on their debut disc.

Connelly seems to honor teeth-baring tone above all else, though his picking is also clean, energetic, and forceful. Backed by drummer Mike Andriosso and bassist Clinton Ryder, he comes on as if his guitar were announcing Armageddon on "Theme from Atomic 7," then switches to the pedal steel for "Her Sassy Kiss," one of several cuts suitable for a spaghetti-western soundtrack. Snatches of old melodies like "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You" and "South of the Border" surface here and there on the 19 tracks, all of them two-minutes-and-out. But Connelly — whose previous trio did a tune called "We’re Not a Fucking Surf Band" — has a way with original titles. "She’s Got Haggar Party Slacks" rocks steady like a Ventures cut or the theme from Batman, and other tunes live up to evocative names like "Cold Black Dead Heart Polka" and "Artistry in Nachos."