A rollicking blast of countrified rock filled Pianos on Tuesday night, as Hymns continued their monthlong residency at the Lower East Side club. The foursome, who made their mark with the infectious debut album Brother/Sister, are playing shows to herald the release of their second LP, Travel in Herds, due in March. “I like the first album, but this one we’re really proud of,” said Jason Roberts, guitarist, honky tonk keyboardist and Hymns’ perpetual ball of energy.

Roberts and the band’s frontman, Brian Harding, have known each other since they were little kids, have been playing music together almost as long and it shows — the two have a tight, effortless chemistry onstage, and along with drummer Tony Kent and their newest member, bassist Matt Shaw, they deliver a show that offers Southern-fried good times, start to finish.

I say Southern-fried because Hymns hail from North Carolina, and at times there is a definite nasal twang to Harding’s voice — not unlike that of another skinny-jeaned singer, Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill. In fact, Hymns really ought to share a bill with the Kings one day. These boys definitely could hold their own. They have already played with Ben Kweller, Sam Roberts Band and the Lemonheads.

But a while back the Southerners relocated to Brooklyn, so in their own way now there is as much New York as there is Carolina in Hymns’ look and sound. Maybe some Los Angeles too. Matter of fact, they led off the Pianos show with the lead track from the new album, “NYC Nervous Breakdown,” continued with a new song called “L.A.” and finished the set with the rocking, rousing “St. Sebastian,” which references, among other things, Laurel Canyon. “Yeah, we tried to make this record very much about cities,” said Roberts. “It’s not all that way, but a lot of it is.”

Other songs included their new MySpace track “I Can’t Be What You Want” (a tune that like many of the tracks on the new record features horns, though they were not in attendance Tuesday night) and from their first album, favorites “Friends of Mine” and “Power in the Street.” Whatever their muse, Hymns are a breath of fresh air. Can’t believe it took me this long to see them, but I am looking forward to doing it again soon, hopefully at the upcoming South by Southwest.

If ever there were a band made for SXSW, Hymns are it. They played there last year, will be there again in ’08, and they call it “the best week of the year.” I would be hard pressed to disagree.

Until then they’ve got a few more shows in their adopted home of NYC and elsewhere on the East Coast. Check their MySpace (hymnsband) and get thee to your local place of rock n’ roll worship for some Hymns.

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