Rock On!

Sarah Teeple is the only lady in The Ladybirds, and by that I mean “female person”, not “refined woman”. When she sings lead on rockabilly tunes such as the title track, you can hear the bad girl in every hiccupped syllable. But this ain’t no retro album. It’s more of an amalgam of rock styles during the 45 rpm era with a tinge of nastiness. One hears echoes of that era’s greasy music—which included everything from Wanda Jackson to Question Mark and the Mysterians to The Sweet—in their hook-filled compositions. Joined by Max Balliet (guitar), Jaxon Lee Swain (bass), Anthony Fossaluzza (organ), and Brett Holsclaw (drums), The Ladybirds know how to have a real good time, as the title of this, their second release, suggests: Shimmy Shimmy Dang! indeed. The attitude here is more of a sneer than a smile, but the garage rock stylings suggest they want you to dance instead of rumble.