: the stuttering beat, reverbed, twangy guitar, clipped drums, and the aggressive, sultry vocals of a badass front woman.Hope confidently leads her band through six songs touching on classic rockabilly themes like drinking, dancing, and cars while keeping alive the tradition of the music. This connection is made explicit on a cover of Wanda Jackson’s classic “Fujiyama Mama.”
Guitar gunslinger Jeff Kadlic provides some wonderful, serrated edges with a fistful of blistering solos, particularly on “’53 Boogie” and “Big Block Betty.” The rock-solid rhythm section of Josef Pelletier on doghouse bass and Johnny Watson on drums really keeps the train a-rollin’. Hope, who also fronts local punk band Tiger Piss, plays it cool, mostly eschewing real-gone screams for more subtly dynamic stylings, which are best exemplified on the title track. This is music that calls out for a whiskey on the rocks and a dance floor, and not necessarily in that order. www.myspace.com/laurahopeandthechamptones
