THE DING-DONGS - S/T

Meet The Ding-Dongs, who sound like they hail from somewhere deep in the wilds of Arkansas...No, that ain't quite right; how's about some neglected one-horse town off a two-lane highway in Tennessee? Hmmm, nope, scratch that. How does the lovely and liberated, sophisticated cultural hotbed of Montreal grab you? Yippers, these here Ding-Dongs do indeed come from a punkabilly place found in the innards of that city's rock'n'roll underground. More importantly, their debut disc represents the raunchily raucous collaboration between charismatic rockabilly powerhouse Bloodshot Bill and great garage-punker Mark "BBQ" Sultan.

On this release on the fantastic Brooklyn-based Norton label ("Where the loud sound abounds" is their appropriate motto), The Ding-Dongs deliver the crude deep-fried rootsy goods in an unrelenting barrage of yelped vocals, twangy gi-tar, and pounded backbeat. The result is a breathlessly exciting romp that recalls the buzz put out by '80s/'90s Montreal rockabilly gods Ray Condo and his Hard Rock Goners, but utterly stripped-down AND souped-up. In other words, no musty revivalism here, just a ding-dong daddy of a damned good time!