Reverend Horton Heat

The Reverend is back and in good form with his sixth full-length release, produced by the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary, and is his first on Time Bomb. The quality control problems of Space Heater and It's Martini Time have been left behind in favour of some good, basic, well-produced country and swing-influenced rockabilly. Clocking in at just over 48 minutes, Spend A Night in the Box jumps from upbeat rockers like the title track to joke-y party tracks like "Sue Jack Daniels" to energising instrumentals such as "The Millionaire." There are lots of songs of love gone wrong here, such as "Bedroom Again" and "Unlucky In Love," and unlike other artists there's always something believable about old Jim's sob stories. All the playing here is top-flight and the inclusion of some hard rock influences that have sometimes marred the band's sound in the past are nowhere to be found on this album. While this record doesn't quite have the manic electricity of the first three records, it's a big step up from the disappointing mid-career releases and will keep most fans happy.