The Hot Rods
The Hot Rods
GlassMaster Records
By Al Kaufman
The Hot Rods is what they is. Basically, they're a bunch of Atlanta rednecks in black Harley shirts and tattoos who listened to the Ramones a lot. They like their women hot, their beer cold, and their cars fast.
Unlike 2007's Super Sport, which gave equal time to women, cars, and alcohol (the CD was partially funded by Pabst Blue Ribbon), The Hot Rods focuses mostly on the girls. Three of the songs from Super Sport appear on this one, "Sucker," "Sorority Girl" and "Slant Six."
"Sucker" opens the disc. In front of their driving, psychobilly beat, the mohawked Mug shouts out, "Come on baby grab that pole / Shake that ass and rock and roll," and the tone has been set. This is, after all, a band that thinks a "Sorority Girl" is "the greatest thing in this world."
This is fun, loud, rock and roll, all while using the minimal amount of chord progression. They pay homage to the Playboy Magazine founder and father of the pool party on "I Wanna Be Hugh," and it's refreshing to hear a song that treats New Orleans as the mysterious party town it had worked so hard to achieve, instead of a town ravished by a hurricane, as they do with "Voodoo Queen."
So go ahead and put a case of Schlitz in the fridge, pop in a roller derby DVD, put the Hot Rods in your CD player, and call the guys over. You'll be doing Jackass antics in no time.
The Hot Rods hold their CD release party as they bring their Traveling Rock Show and Burlesque Review (with the Pretty Things Peep Show) to Smith's Olde Bar, Saturday, April 11th. 8 pm. Get your tickets here.
