If you turn the Christian indie shaker upside down, not too many psychobilly bands fall out. One of the first and best was The Calicoes, from Texas. They released one fantastic EP called Rumble (the title a contextualized reference to the battle between good and evil), and a full-length named Custom Acceleration. For my money, the EP is the better release song for song. It’s more primitive and raw, which suits the style better in my view.
You can’t go wrong with any of those 6 songs, but check out track 5, “Read.” It’s not often you hear a song that is musically authentic, true to genre, and serves as an anthem to reading the Holy Scriptures:
When I’m alone I read your Word
I sit and think of all the things that I’ve heard
I promise to ever fade away
My love for you won’t turn, turn around and fade
With lyrics this straight-forward, there is a real risk of it coming off as preachy or forced, but amazingly neither is the case here. It’s still a raucous, rebellious romp. It’s just that it focuses on reading the Bible.
