The Reverend Horton Heat: Spend A Night In The Box

Since joining Sub Pop Records in 1990, the Reverend Horton Heat hasn't been just a clergyman serving the rockabilly world—he has been more like the high priest. Touring the country for 10 years in a Chevy van, the Reverend and his band sought to bring the teachings of the musical style he terms "psychobilly"—a divine blend of rockabilly, swing, country, and jump-style blues—to the uneducated masses. The Reverend and his devoted followers seemed to be dwelling in a land of milk and honey until he released the 1998 album Space Heater. A record that was more punk than redneck, Space Heater lacked the familiar style that had the Reverend rocking towns across the map inside out.

If Space Heater was the portrait of a lost soul, then the new Spend A Night In The Box is the work of a man who has been born again. Lyrics like "I'm gonna sue Jack Daniels for what he did to my face last night," are proof that the psycho is still there, while songs such as "Sleeper Coach Driver" bring the billy back. The album ranges from the raucous title track to the mellower "The Bedroom Again," the closest the Reverend has ventured to a traditional love song. "King" is the perfect culmination of the band's signature style: the Reverend's lyrical testosterone glides over his reverb-saturated guitar licks, while Jimbo Wallace's upright bass and Scott Churilla's drums accompany him in a fashion that would make the Stray Cats green with envy.

In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, the Reverend said, "I get slagged for being the same, and I get slagged for being different. I don't much care about any of that. As long as I can write the songs I want to write, for me that's awesome." With his new home on Time Bomb Recordings, he has that kind of artistic freedom for the first time since his band left Sub Pop in 1994. If Spend A Night In the Box is any indication, the Reverend Horton Heat will continue to preach the psychobilly gospel regardless of what the critics have to say. (BMG/Time Bomb)

—Steven Barnett

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