Kitty Rose Rattles Rafters on 7-Inch

Don’t run away screaming if rockabilly isn’t your thing, just because it says “Rockabilly Kitty Rose” on the 7-inch sleeve. Cartoonish, modern rockabilly and ska get a lot of grief amongst many of my music-loving acquaintances, although both can still be good in the right musicians’ hands. Kitty Rose, a former country singer turned throwback rock ‘n’ roll chanteuse, does a fine job revisiting how early rock ‘n’ roll intersected with hillbilly music in the South, with her own added touches of Memphis soul.

The tracks on Kitty Rose and the Rattlers’ recent 7-inch, “Bourbon Bound” and “I Saw a Ghost,” gets sweetened by tenor sax. It sounds as much like King Khan and the Shrines as a typical modern rockabilly outfit. Seriously, if this was called the Garage Rock Rattlers, or something like that, you’d dig it already. Instead, it’s a brief audio glimpse at what rockabilly was back then and can still be today. You can get a taste of ‘em along with a few other local devotees at the “Rockabilly Uprising,” Saturday, Nov. 4th at the Avondale Towne Cinema.