Restless Ready To Go (Playground Music)
Ever among England's finest merchants of neo-rockabilly, whose roots extend equally in country and blues loam. Stellar songcraft benefits immeasurably from Mark Harman's flabbergasting Telecaster forays.
Recommended: "Ready To Go," "Crime Don't Pay," "18 Wheels," "Knee Deep In the Beat," "Open Road," "If I Can Ever Let Her Go"
Video: "Ready To Go"
The 69 Cats Seven Year Itch (Cleopatra Records)
All-star psycho/goth combo smolders and sears as one would hope. Danny B. Harvey (Headcat); Jerki 69 (The 69 Eyes); Rat Scabies (The Damned); Kim Nekroman (Nekromantix). Sometimes where there's smoke, there's arson.
Recommended: "Hollywood's Burning," "Let's Go Psycho," "Vampire Boogie," "She's Hot," "It Ain't Enough," "Hey World" (feat. Sky Saxon), "Good Time To Die"
Video: "Hollywood's Bleeding"
West Of Texas Heartache, Hangovers, Honky Tonks (Pleasant Valley Ranch)
Sure, there are hard-luck psalms here, and they're fine moments that sound real. But variety comes in the form of bouncing country-swing of which there can never be too much.
Recommended: "My Whiskey Life," "Foolin'," "Sound Of My Heart Breakin," "12 Steps To Drinkin'," "Bayou Boy," "Darlin', How You've Changed"
Video: "My Whiskey Life"
Tylor and the Train Robbers Non-Typical Find (self)
Pleasant airs of a country bent, but don't be misled by the unassuming constructions; instrumental heft informs famously.
Recommended: "Staring Down the North," "This Town," "Jenny Lynn," "Non-Typical Find," "Lemonade," "Back the Other Way"
Video: "Staring Down the North"
