Lucky 7

The Reverend Horton Heat do what they do, do it well, and don’t do much else. Fronted by the man (Jim Heath) who lends his stage name (the Reverend Horton Heat) to the outfit as a whole, the veteran Texas trio have spent over a decade kicking a blistering, raucous version of rockabilly that imagines Carl Perkins jacked up on speedballs and corn whiskey. Their seventh record makes no great changes to the game plan. They strut enthusiastically through “Like a Rocket” and “What’s Reminding Me of You” and even slow things down to a classic pop/country crawl for “The Tiny Voice of Reason.” They’ve rarely sounded quite as vicious as they do on the mile-a-minute romp “Galaxy 500,” but overall, the vibe hasn’t changed much since the early ’90s. They can still pull the whole thing off live, but on record—particularly this one—the Rev’s style, energy and attitude can’t help but feel stale and shticky.