Southern Culture on the Skids
Zombified
Kudzu Records
Zombies. Damn things are everywhere. Gotta call the exterminator, but while he’s sautéing brains and setting deadfalls for the undead, we have this Halloween-themed collection of campy horror songs suitable for parties or trick-or-treating. Southern Culture on the Skids or SCOTS as they abbreviate themselves does the redneck theme gig pretty well, and it’s just a small slip of the time warp to move them into Halloween. There’s a lucky 13 tracks here, titles have that “Monster Mash” ring – “Zombified,” “Undertaker,” “Idol With the Glowin’ Eyes,” and the painfully punning “Eyeball You Later.” The sound sticks with their swamp water rotted rockabilly roots – punching guitar chords overlay a slap bass and a minimal drum kit, Rick Miller strangling a unisphere mic, and actual old-school-sounding Hammond Organ.
So how does Zombified rank against such classics as Plastic Seat Sweat and Dirt Track Date? It’s an excellent collection as seasonal themed music goes. If you accidentally slipped this out on Kwanzaa you might get some looks, but while it’s not “timeless” it certainly is “deathless.” There’s plenty of broodingly dark music for writing suicide notes, thanks to all those ’90s Goth bands, but Zombified works best as a party backer. You can slow dance, you can jitterbug, and you can even make out in the laundry room with this blasting. Drink cheap beer and leave a bowl of candy on the front steps, and if those little bastards from the next block steal it all, too bad for the later comers. You’ve got the party record, and your next girlfriend is waiting down there next to the antistatic sheets. You need to save her from the cobwebs.
Southern Culture on the Skids: http://www.scots.com • http://www.facebook.com/southerncultureontheskids
