Besides having to break in new drummer Ben Ivascu (who seemed easily breakable), members of the Twin Cities' best hear-me-roar band the Stnnng don't really have any excuse for why it took four years to release a new album. "The Smoke of My Will," the band's third full-length, comes out Tuesday via Modern Radio as a vinyl/download combo. Release party is Saturday at the Turf Club.

"We just kept planning to do it 'next month,' and then all of a sudden four years went by," the quintet's small-stature, big-scream singer Chris Besinger explained. When they finally got around to recording, he said, "Then it happened really fast. We'd been playing a lot of these songs for a while, so we really knew what we wanted out of them."

Like its predecessors, "The Smoke of My Will" is loaded with the kind of bursting, harrowing noise-rock that would have made these guys a shoo-in for Amphetamine/Reptile back in the label's heyday. Ivascu and bassist Jesse Kwakenat dutifully maintained the band's stalker-sounding rhythms. Some of the songs steam up a little slower and steadier, but wind up sounding even more wicked and wacko, including the Richard Hell-inspired "Two Sick Friends" and the record's final (and best) track, "Tremblin' Blues." Not sure if this is the effect of a four-year wait, but it was worth it either way.

The Stnnng is streaming the album all this week at www.reviler.org.

Sun sets on High Noon A band that outlived the "Urban Cowboy," "Achey-Breaky Heart" and "boot in the ass" phases of mainstream country music along with dozens of Twin Cities country venues, High Noon won't make it past this weekend. The veteran twangers and occasional classic-rockers are throwing in the towel following two farewell shows Friday and Saturday at Povlitski's in Spring Lake (9 p.m., $15). Band leader Bob Thompson chalked up the decision to simply "wanting a break."

"The band has never gotten along better, and we still get plenty of bookings despite the economy -- we're just tired," said Thompson, the longest-running member of the group at 18 years (it's actually been in business 27 years). The biggest changes over that time, he said, were the advent of home video and then the statewide smoking ban, "which means there have been less bars in business and less people going out. But our fans have really stuck by us through all that, and we're extremely grateful."

Random mix Gayngs filed a lawsuit Monday against the Nashville bus company that hijacked its gear and forced the cancellation of its Austin City Limits Festival gig. The band is seeking compensation for the $15,000 performance fee it lost plus reimbursement for expenses after the bus was driven back to Nashville with their gear on board. Among the pages in "Gayngs LLC vs. CJ Starbuses Inc." are allegations that the bus owner and driver kept asking the band for more money for expenses not covered in the contract. ...

While everyone's waiting to find out whether Prince's Welcome 2 America Tour will land in town in December (it sounds more like an East Coast thing), the members of Mint Condition know full well where they'll be over the next couple months before joining the outing, which will also include Larry Graham, Janelle Monae, Cassandra Wilson, Esperanza Spalding and more. The St. Paul R&B vets are headed to Iraq and Kuwait this weekend for a 10-day tour of military bases. Then they will head to Los Angeles for a few weeks to tape episodes of a new Black History Month-oriented show on the TV One network. Mint is the house band on "Way Black When," which will be co-hosted by Wayne Brady and feature such musical guests as the Sugarhill Gang, Living Colour, Ginuwine and Graham. ...

After pairing up for the Bruce Allen tribute in February, the Suburbs and Suicide Commandos are getting back together for another First Ave gig on Nov. 20. Tickets ($20) are on sale now. ... First Ave also put Ike Reilly's annual Thanksgiving Eve show on sale, happening Nov. 24. ...

The shows must go on for the hard-working Rhymesayers crew: Toki Wright hosts the monthly Galactic Soul Lounge show Wednesday at Cause with guests Mike Mictlan and Hmong fusion band PosNoSys (9:30 p.m., $5, 21 & older). On Thursday, P.O.S. will perform at the Guthrie's Joe Dowling Studio -- a great place to see a music gig, btw -- with Dessa, part of her continuing Cadence Hip-Hop Series (7:30 p.m., $17, all ages).

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 • Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisRstrib