"Where has 500 Miles To Memphis been all my life? This Cincinnati-based band's debut full-length Sunshine In A Shot Glass is simply fucking amazing. Review over. But seriously, this album is filled with the sort of bittersweet country punk that both punks and rednecks can't help but love. Seriously. It's instrumentally ambitious but never approaches wankery as fiddles, slide guitar, pedal steel, organs, and banjos sit alongside churning guitar-bass-drums arrangements. Now when an album is this good (and Sunshine In A Shot Glass is) I hesitate to make easy comparisons but just to give you an idea 500 Miles To Memphis sounds sorta like Lucero but with a little more twang, bigger breakdowns, and less gravelly vocals; maybe like Lucero vs. Attack In Black vs. Bill Monroe. Intrigued yet? It is whiskey-soaked, twangy bluegrass, punk-infused country rock. Honestly, Sunshine In A Shot Glass is instantly captivating and needs no time to grow; tender at times and boiling lava hot at others. It is rare (if not almost impossible) that an album can be well-suited for both line-dancing and mosh pits, but somehow this one is. Near perfect." - Can You See The Sunset

"Editor's Pick! With summer coming to a close, it's almost time to put away those sunshine jams and break out music to get me through another Canadian winter. 500 Miles To Memphis is the perfect band to help us through that transition. Sunshine In A Shotglass goes just as well with an open window drive through the country as it does with a glass of stout by the wood stove. The band's combination of punk grit and attitude combined with country staples such as a vocal drawl and tales of remorse make the band appeal to Social Distortion's fans as much as Lucero's." - Punknews

"500 Miles To Memphis' debut Sunshine In A Shot Glass is everything I hoped it would be after I glanced at its cover featuring a guitar toting cowboy riding a bone horse: A booze-soaked conglomeration of distortion-driven punk rock, Southern twang, and country-fried Western-tinged folk like what you'd expect to hear if you stumbled into an old-timey saloon. And if this band happened to be playing said saloon, they'd be rocking the damn house. Sunshine In A Shot Glass serves equally well as a soundtrack to a wild night on the town as it does an introspective evening alone, dousing your broken heart in alcohol. Every cut on here is infused with an upbeat and life-affirming spirit. 500 Miles To Memphis plays tuneful country-infused punk with undeniable spirit and style. Put this on the next time you go bar hopping and scream along with your arm around your drinking buddy's shoulder." - Mammoth Press

"I'm a very discriminating listener of pop-punk. I'm also not a huge fan of country music. Despite these hurdles, 500 Miles To Memphis have won my heart with their country-punk amalgam. Sunshine In A Shotglass is awesome. The music is varied, from straight-ahead chargers to hoe-downs to weepers to just rock songs. Each track boasts a melody that is hummable and dangerously hooky, whether it be the vocals, the fiddle, the guitar or the bass. The band works together absolutely perfectly, conceding individual glory for the good of the group. I'm not the type of guy who would search out a country-punk band, but Sunshine In A Shotglass is easily one of my favorite releases of the year. I've been humming standout The Regret for about a week solid. I honestly can't think of anything wrong with Sunshine; it's perfectly paced, superbly written and performed, honest, passionate and fun. You need this if you like country or punk. If you don't like one of the two, even better...I'm convinced that you will love 500 Miles To Memphis anyway." - Independent Clauses

"500 Miles To Memphis are almost a full on country band but with just a few too many chunky riffs to be quite that easy to categorize. Think Johnny Cash's rockier moments or Willie Nelson at his peak crossed with Social Distortion and maybe Down by Law. If you've heard Drag the River then you'll have a fair idea; kind of like if Uncle Tupelo had been middle class, or Lucero if they cheered up a bit. Sunshine In A Shotglass is really good too. There are some proper foot stomping bar room brawl kinda songs, as well as campfire sing alongs and wistful tales of loves once lost. These are the kind of songs that make you want to throw a stool across the room in the midst of a brawl before exiting the honky tonk bar upside down through the swinging doors. There's something indescribably American about the band, in exactly the right way. You could listen to this album in a Nissan Micra on the M62 and it'd still make you feel like Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit. What more could you want from a record?" - Die Shellsuit, Die

"These five cowpokes from Cincinnati wail out a mix of hefty riffs with a sorrowful soul. The sounds emitted from 500 Miles To Memphis may get them classified as alt-country, but there's a stronger rock-n-roll vibe and a punky backbeat that will separate them from many of their contemporaries. A few of the songs are slow and bring to mind contemporary and classic folk while many are fast as pure punk rock fury. Altogether it's a true separation from your bland honky-tonk, I assure you. Sunshine In A Shotglass is the CD for those that are into Drive By Truckers, Social Distortion or Lucero, but still want something a little different at the same time." - Feast of Hate and Fear

"Sunshine In A Shotglass opens with the squealing jig of a fiddle over the swelling bass drum thud of a punk anthem. Welcome to country-punk, a mixture of two genres that is less fusion than simple collision and seems almost paradoxical in its intent, but nonetheless works surprising well for Cincinnati, OH-based quartet 500 Miles to Memphis. It's appealing in a novel sort of way. The album has similarities to bands like the Mahones or Rum Runner, except instead of incorporating the working-class folk influences of Olde Guard England, 500 Miles to Memphis have decided instead upon the American Midwest for their source of ethno-inspiration." - Spill Magazine

"Cincinnati-based quintet 500 Miles To Memphis plays the kind of unaffected, country-tinged rock I heard practically every weekend during college in Lexington, Kentucky. Recorded across the Ohio River in Highland Heights, the band's first album, Sunshine In A Shot Glass, is far more self-assured than most debut albums. From the whiskey-soaked drawl of Ryan Malott (echoing Mike Ness in his rootsier moments) to the rock solid rhythm section and David Rhodes Brown on lap steel and Paul Patterson on fiddle, the band has obviously been playing together for a while. Not exactly country, not quite punk, 500 Miles To Memphis just rocks, leavening the mix with instruments traditionally associated with country music‹usually fiddle or pedal steel guitar. Ultimately a bit tough to categorize, the band sounds like nothing more than a country-western version of the Dropkick Murphys and has produced a promising debut." - Pop Matters

"Cincinnati's favorite sons, 500 Miles To Memphis, obviously have their share of Willie and Waylon CDs in constant rotation on their tour bus.  Probably best described as country punk, the band blends the noise and energy of Social Distortion with the song writing of the Highwaymen.  Think power chords with plenty of lap steel guitar.  Sunshine in a Shot Glass is a solid take on the genre, showcasing a band that could hold its own against groups like Lucero or Drive-By Truckers. The songs take enough influence from punk and classic country that you can almost hear anyone from Johnny Cash to Rancid singing a song like Broken, Busted, Bloody. There are a dozen tracks here, and each is nearly as strong as the next." - Insite Atlanta

"Sunshine In A Shotglass starts with a hoe-down style fiddle before introducing the electric guitar. Sometimes songs pit the two instruments against each other in some battle for space; other times it integrates them in a melding of alt-country and pop punk. That's kind of what the whole album is like. There's several foot-stomping, slide guitar-tastic songs, full of country twang and lub-dub bass lines. Darlin' mixes things up with some female vocals. Don't Mislead builds to a nice crescendo before falling into a chipper guitar / fiddle breakdown. I'll Miss You Whatever and Cheers utilize saloon-style piano, which brings the western into the country and western sound. The heart of the album is really in Ryan Malott's personal lyrics. He writes about nights filled with booze and regret. The lyrics are sorrowful without whining and have that hint of humor necessary with this kind of subject matter. 500 Miles to Memphis is best for punks with a penchant for classic country." - Punkbands.com

"Sunshine In A Shotglass is equal parts Green Day and Hank Williams, though much better than that sounds. Call it alt-country, call it country-punk, call it punk-a-billy...it is what it is. I'm digging the lap steel on Broken, Busted, Bloody and there's nothing not to like about Annalyse McCoy's guest vocal on Darlin." - Ear Candy

"An entertaining blood-and-broken bottle country punk combo, on first listen 500 Miles To Memphis sound like the Old 97s fronted by Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day. On paper, it really doesn't sound like a good idea, but when you give Sunshine In A Shotglass a go it's actually rather tasty. Other current alt country brethren come into the picture now and then, with similarities to Patty Hurst Shifter, Lucero and Drive By Truckers. The combination of a punk derived vocal style over a broken bottle, blood spitting, barroom country band makes for a rousing listen. These boys must be well worth seeing live!" - Americana UK

"Knowing Deep Elm, you know you will always get something original and pleasant to the ears. With that being said comes a very unique group called 500 Miles to Memphis who plays rowdy, insanely catchy country punk on Sunshine In A Shotglass. Yes, this band gives you a very original pop punk flavor of Green Day if they were from Nashville. These boys incorporate all the features of country and mix it up with punk rock. Let me just say it's awesome! I think every fan of rock should check out 500 Miles To Memphis. They are really refreshing to the ears. Overall Sunshine In A Shotglass really surprised me. Go pick it up" - Melodic.net

"500 Miles To Memphis is half country twang, half raucous punk, wholly innovative. Having set up camp in Cincinnati, the band is technically less than 500 miles from Memphis, but who's counting when you have as good an album as this. Sunshine In A Shotglass is a unique collection of songs awaiting those who feel adventurous enough to step out of the ordinary and in to the sunset perfectly lit for old-timey roots and contemporary punk to shine together for once. Ryan Malott has the necessary farmer's tanned vocal composure to make it authentically Southern, leaving the early Green Day influence to shine through at just the right time. Songs like All My Friends Are Crazy show the concoction 500 Miles To Memphis have put together works towards the benefit of two genres naturally thought to be completely opposite in ideals." - AbsolutePunk

"It starts with some fine fiddle work in the best bluegrass tradition, then quickly switches to a thrashy, punky twang. It is as great an intro tune as you'll find, setting the rowdy mood for this wonderfully demented rock 'n' roll hoedown. Welcome to Sunshine In A Shot Glass from 500 Miles To Memphis, the Cincinnati band that has truly mastered the punk-country vibe. A lot of bands have been experimenting with merging traditional hard country sounds with the alt-rock sound, but few do it as seamlessly as 500 Miles with their piercing soaring guitars, organ, fiddle and pedal steel. What really sets the album apart is Malott's deeply personal songwriting. He takes us on a debauched journey from alcohol and cocaine abuse to lost loves and finally a sort of peaceful resolution. It's not pretty, but somehow never depressing. The songs are 'whiskey-soaked,' begging to be played loud with a playful anger, waiting for a bar fight to break out. 500 Miles To Memphis has managed that rarity: a satisfying and complete work that is rowdy, heart-wrenching and full of wonderful roadhouse twangy thrashing rock." - Cincinnati Post

"I was quite impressed when I popped Sunshine in a Shotglass into the stereo as a very loud and punk sound came out that reminded me of Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys. However, as soon as All My Friends Are Crazy started, I realized how 500 Miles To Memphis is more inspired by indie rock and roll than Irish punk. The band plays fast rock and and is a cross between Lucero and Against Me! with a more pop attitude. Sunshine in a Shotglass is a strong rock and roll album that does not want to be labeled, so let's leave it that way." - Truepunk