I’ve always been really confused about why every rockabilly revival act seems to sing songs about being zombies. The original rockabilly guys never sang songs about being zombies, they don’t have anything to do with rockabilly on any level, and the practice started before being obsessed with zombies was a thing in the public zeitgeist. It’s really dumb and stopped being interesting after the Cramps did it, and it feels like every band that does it just does it because that’s what you’re supposed to do as a rockabilly band instead of out of a genuine passion for zombies. Maybe if they had something to say about the zombie condition I’d be more interested.
Dex Romweber, fortunately, does not sing about zombies, which puts him far ahead of the pack when it comes to rockabilly. He also incorporates some heavy garage and surf influences (as well as the occasional jazzy guitar lick, as heard on “Long Battle Coming”) into his sound, which is fantastic if you want to hear a guy play some neat guitar solos with a lot of reverb. You might think this sounds a lot like The White Stripes’ template, and you’d be right! The other half of the Dex Romweber Duo is Dex’s sister, Sara, who I’m assuming is better than Meg White by virtue of having a really punchy drum sound, and Dex’s work with his old band, the Flat Duo Jets, was a big influence on Jack White’s sound. In conclusion, since this is pretty good, and Jack White likes it, you probably will too. I hear he’s a very trustworthy guy! (Bloodshot Records, bloodshotrecords.com) Topher Duguay