The Slingshots - Feel So Right
The Drugstore Cowboys -

You gotta marvel at the durability of rockabilly. Most other popular genres—jazz, Motown, R&B, rock and roll, et al.—have mutated and cross-pollinated so much that they often barely recall their origins. But rockabilly just keeps chugging along. That there are still bands who play exuberant, adventurous rockabilly to a dedicated (some might say slavish) fan base is a testament to how great the music is.

Of course, rockabilly hasn’t remained entirely unchanged since it first exploded back at the dawn of rock and roll, when white boys with guitars began mixing R&B’s raucous elements with their hillbilly stylings. Of all the developments in popular music, punk has had the most influence. In many ways, early punk resembles early RAB: hyper, energetic music played for and by kids with a distinct fashion sense who scared the bejeezus out of their parents. Consequently, rockabilly bands these days by and large fall into one of two categories: post-punk and pre-punk. Two new releases on Raucous Records out of England typify each camp. In one corner, represented by The Slingshots, is the traditional form of rockabilly, all Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent. In the other is rockabilly’s bastard brother, psychobilly—faster, darker, and demented (think early Reverend Horton Heat)—as exemplified by The Drugstore Cowboys. Both are excellent discs.

The Slingshots adhere more closely to rockabilly’s country roots. You can distinctly hear the blues and boogie in almost all their songs. Even sans a drummer, they have a propulsive rhythm that makes them easily as lively as The Drugstore Cowboys’ power RAB. The Cowboys play fast and hard, slowing down only to amp up their more sinister aspects.  Both bands feature excellent guitar playing, and each recording offers a fine example of why rockabilly isn’t going anywhere soon.

- Christian Puffer