Southern by the grace of God and not the least bit shy about reminding you of it, the
Quadrajets may have been weaned on punk rock, but industrial-strength hard rock has an equal place in their hearts, and you can hear the two colliding like a pair of freight trains on the band's second full-length, 1996's
Alabama Hip Shake. Cranking three big ol' guitars through amps jacked up to God knows what, the
Quadrajets suggest some sort of unholy alliance between
Lynyrd Skynyrd and
the Damned. On
Alabama Hip Shake, they not only honor both sides of the equation with equal enthusiasm, but sound as if they could outrun them both on a good day. Though the
Quadrajets fail to come up with a tune as good as either "Neat Neat Neat" or "Gimmie Back My Bullets," "The Rosedale Sons of Kong," "40 wt. Dope," and "Dixie Speedway" all roar big, loud, and mean, and with more than a bit of a grin (or a smirk) around the corners. While
Neil Young may never have figured on "Computer Age" sounding the way it does here, somehow he might not mind. A dozen servings of high-speed noise with both heart and muscle to spare,
Alabama Hip Shake is not an album for the timid at heart, but the
Quadrajets wanted it that way, and if you're looking for a band and a disc that brings the rock and brings it big time, this is where you need to go. ~ Mark Deming