The Horton Brothers
Heave Ho! (Texas Jamboree)
Los Hermanos Horton bust out a 14-song rockabilly fest on their sophomore full-length for Texas Jamboree, pulling in respected local talent like Lisa Pankratz, Dave Biller, and T. Jarrod Bonta to help round things out. The Horton harmonies often lean towards Don and Phil Everly territory, and their songs (almost all obscure covers) are skewed towards the pop side of the rockabilly equation. A Horton original, “Howdy Doody Do Ya?” kicks things off on a fresh-scrubbed, jumpy note, with Dave Biller’s guitar embroidering the song’s edges. Other standouts are “Lovin’ Lorene” and the infectious “Jack in the Boogie Box,” the latter song finding the Horton boys sounding like Fifties youngsters the Belew Twins. Though the Hortons have enthusiasm aplenty and can play and sing flawlessly, this disc could use a little more variety; too many songs are in the uptempo rockabilly vein, with nary a shuffle, train song, hillbilly moaner, or ballad to be found. Still, for those with a strong hankering to turn back the clock to 1958, roll back the rug and do some jitterbugging, the Hortons fill the bill admirably.
This article appears in September 8 • 2000.