Tijuana Bibles

Ay, ay, ay! Over Mexicali way, in a seedy, steenkeeng basement (in the kind of border town that Orson Welles loves), someone is making some kind of raunchy rock and roll. You can feel the tequila and tabasco-taco sweat drip down the small of your back within minutes. The TBs have a great mixture of surf rock that brings back the great and legendary Deja Voodoo and Shadowy Men - minimalist and utterly ridiculous yet always good for another listen. "Intelligent and Sensational," like it says on the CD case? You bet. Any band that soaks as much distortion and reverb with female backing vocals, by "the Bible-ettes," on a song called "Gorilla Stomp," has to be able to put the ordinary in perspective. There is a furious and truly weird mentality at work here, complete with wrestling matches and gorilla suits. Refreshing as a pitcher of Corona and as hallucinogenic as a bowl of North Mexico backwoods chilli, the Bibles will set you on fire and punch you out.