The Hoodoo Tones - Three Steps To Evil

While Northern France most likely isn’t the first place you think of when it comes to rockabilly, Three Steps To Evil, the fourth release from The Hoodoo Tones is out to change that.  Having said that, even though their music is rooted in rockabilly, there is plenty more to their sound.  For proof of that you need go no further than  the opening track “DRAG!”, an extremely catchy surf instrumental with a bit of a spaghetti western groove and a little spacy reverb.  Next up are three tracks that stick to the rockabilly sound, but still manage to mix things up and keep it fresh.   “I Need A Confessor (Boom Boom Boom)” has an intensity to it and a bit of twang, while “Grey Sky” adds some classic old school guitar and a hypnotic groove, and “Jitterbuggin’” is just good ol' straight-ahead rockabilly.  The diversity is on full display on the next two tracks with “The Fool”, a hard hitting cut that meshes garage rock with a little Chuck Berry R&B, but also maintains a bit of the rockabilly rhythm and “Too Wide Ocean”, a song that does a great job of capturing the spirit of Buddy Holly.  “Behind The Leather” is a simple little tune that’s a little quirky, but with a really fun, infectious beat, and “Coolest Cats” is a throwback to some Elvis styled rockabilly from the fifties.  On “The Way It Is” they virtually throw everything that’s come before out the window with a really cool track that is a darker and more hard driving, full of atmosphere and even showing hints of The Doors. Shifting things back slightly they close out with some Outlaw Country courtesy “The Last Of Our Kind”.  Three Steps To Evil is proof positive that roots and rockabilly is alive and kicking in France.  

(Rhythm Bomb Records) (The Hoodoo Tones - Facebook)