The 2024 Sub Pop obsession continues, and this record is one of those that really surprised me. Back when I was 17 and buying Sub Pop 7"s in record shops in Camden, there was one record & band that I would avoid at all costs - Reverend Horton Heat. They had a full length with a dude on the cover wearing a checkered suit. It just screamed 'avoid' to me back then. Yet here I am 30 years later buying a 7" by them.
The Reverend Horton Heat (which is both the name of a single dude, but also his band) comes from Dallas, Texas and plays 'old fashioned' rock 'n' roll. The 7" is titled 'Psychobilly Freakout', and for anyone unsure, here's the definition of psychobilly from wikipedia:
It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramping up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combining it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock, creating a gritty honky tonk punk rock.
I have never, and thoeretically would never usually buy anything in this style, but that's half the fun of trying to collect records from a label with a pretty diverse catalogue. This 7" was released in December 1990 as Sub Pop 96 and contains two songs which are absolutely brilliant. The second song, 'Baby, You Know Who' has been stuck in my head for about a week now. Without a shodow of a doubt I would listen to more of this band.
Next stop, Hi Fi And The Roadburners...?
1 comment:
It's cool to see someone else having the same obsession with early sub pop singles that I have. Most of them are super cheap, but you will find so many interesting bands… even if the main interest is in hardcore and punk records.
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