Three stars.
Have you ever seen the movie "From Dusk till Dawn?"
It's a vampire movie staring George Clooney and Harvey Keitel that's set in a seedy Mexican strip bar. There's a band in the movie that, after the band members turn into vampires, start playing their music on instruments fashioned from the rotting and bloated corpses of the former club patrons.
Well, the FlameTrick Subs could have easily been that band.
FlameTrick Subs is defiantly in the house. That is, if by house, you mean hell, and if by in, you mean rocking Satan and his crew to the depths of Rockabilly - or is it Psychobilly? - depravity with a wit and ferocity that would rival that of the dark lord himself.
How does a band like the Subs come about? I imagine that if a mad scientist were to take a little bit of the B-52's, mix in a scoop of The Reverend Horton Heat and then bake the visceral goop at 5,000 degrees for several hours you might get something that approaches the FlameTrick Subs' third CD, cryptically titled Something in Japanese.
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Fronted by rhythm guitarist/songwriter Buster Crash, lead-guitarist Clem Hoot's tight, six-stringed flailings, and rounded out by a thundering rhythm section courtesy of Peggy Suicide's upright bass and Miss Fortune's drum work, the Subs have managed to create some of the most interesting Psychobilly ever to grace a CD player or club.
Hailing from Waco, Texas, the band seems to have absorbed some of that town's brutal past and made it into their own. In an online interview on the band's official Web site, www.flametricksubs.com, Hoot commented, "Living in Waco can do a lot of funky things to a man's mind. There's a lot of inspiration in Waco."
This is evident in their songwriting. A majority of their tunes ring with an overtone of spunky hillbilly melodies, especially on tracks like "Plastic Jesus," "Beer Run" and "Pride O' Texas."
But certain moments show just how twisted and talented this crazy quad of Texas musicians are, like "Lil' Red Riding Hood," a hauntingly surreal love song that casts frightening shadows of the nature of pursuit and obsession.
One has to wonder, what exactly a FlameTrick Sub is. In the same interview, Hoot solves this mystery.
"Today, it has something to do with the Beatles' yellow submarine painted black with a fiery detailed bow," he said.
While the FlameTrick Subs' CD has nothing to do with tricked out U-boats, it does have a lot to do with fast and furious swamp-rock that is probably best when served live with an ample helping of beer.
Overall, Something in Japanese is a worthy entry to any CD collection whether you are a hardcore fan of Rockabilly or not. Its humorous tones and tight ditties give it a definite party feel.
You could play this CD at any party and within a few minutes people could be singing along and drinking beer to some of the best hillbilly rock to ever grace the state of Texas.
The FlameTrick Subs will be performing Monday night at the Launchpad.
