Rocket from the Crypt
RFTC
(Interscope)

In music industry speak, Rocket from the Crypt is on the “verge of breaking.” That is, the band’s newest release, RFTC, is what will make them a household name. But the band that the British press once dubbed “The Best Band in the World” hasn’t quite lived up to that same hype on this side of the Atlantic. After a few listens to this, their fourth full-length recording, I must whole-heartily agree that Rocket is about to give the American rock ‘n’ roll machine a swift kick in the pants. These boys from San Diego truly know how to write music that wakes up the dead — jolting them to life with a powerful charge of old school greaser rock meets punk attitude.

Outfitted in shiny satin shirts, hair combed into pompadours, and leading an army of tattooed cultists, the Rocket plays some of the most enthusiastic music on today’s concert circuit. RFTC takes this same high-decibel live energy and translates it perfectly on to tape. “Eye on You” opens the album with an endearing John Doe-Exene Cervenkish duet.

From then on, the Rocket lets loose with song after song of anthemic glory, including the infectious screamer “Break It Up,” the head-thrashin’ of “Panic Scam” and unrelenting party horns of “Made For You.” But the comic “Dick On A Dog” — dense with old school influences and refreshing lightheartedness — showcases the true appeal of Rocket from the Crypt.

The ruckus raised on RFTC is like a blender full of ferocious punk, funky horns, and blistering rockabilly that’s been mixed and poured into 13 heaping shot glasses of high-energy madness. Like the band’s earlier albums, Rocket has again delivered a party album that transforms the listener into a full-throttle party animal.