Roll Back the Rug. It's... (Texas Jamboree, 1998)

The Horton Brothers are an Austin-based quartet residing in the hillbilly region of the rockabilly cosmos. The band features the brothers' vocals - Bobby at the lower end, complemented by Billy's nasally harmonies - supported by the former on guitar and the latter on standup bass, along with Shaun Young of the now-disbanded High Noon on drums and Derek Peterson on acoustic rhythm guitar. To this basic unit some nice guestwork is added, in particular superb ivory-tickling on several tracks courtesy of T Jarrod Bonta.

The watchword here is stripped-down authenticity, musically and lyrically - both Bobby Horton's originals and the band's covers are reading from the same text, expressed in terms of "pitching woo," "Lookin' For a Place to Park," and having a "smoochin' party."

Following in the footsteps of the late, great Dave and Deke Combo, with occasional nods in the direction of Big Sandy (try "Red Hot Flame" in this regard), the Hortons have produced an enjoyable, well-crafted debut, except perhaps in the eyes of those who object to what they perceive as the "merely" retro. (Texas Jamboree Records, P.O. Box 161405, Austin, TX 78716)