During nearly twenty years in the music business, Jim Heath has recorded for a major label, appeared on an acclaimed television show (Homicide: Life On The Streets), had a tune he wrote serve as the theme song for the Daytona 500, and most importantly, raised a whole lot of holy hell. The Reverend and his band of psychobilly badmen are back for their eighth studio album and first for North Carolina-based Yep Roc.
Changes? No, not really. Reverend Horton Heat stick to familiar themes: drinkin’(“Party Mad”), women (“Honky Tonk Girl”), acting goofy (“Octopus Mode”) and rockin’ (“If It Ain’t Got Rhythm”). But the songs, no matter how silly some get at times, are memorable and reliably fun, held together and electrified by the band’s twisted take on country, punk, metal, country and surf music.
There are serious moments: Heath pays tribute to his mother, who passed away earlier this year, on “Someone In Heaven”, and reflects on a friend’s heroin addiction on “Indigo Friends”. Other standouts include the spirited title track and “New York City Girls”, which might have landed the good Reverend a spot on Sex In The City if the show hadn’t called it quits.
First pressings of Revival include a bonus DVD with live footage and an interview/walking tour of where it all started for the Reverend — Deep Ellum, a popular arts and entertainment district in Dallas where this album was recorded.
