Back in the 19th century, city planners in New Orleans made the mistake of building a cemetery in low-lying territory. When the heavy rains came, the additional water caused corpses buried in the cemetery to rise to the surface, adding a particularly ghoulish physical element to the city’s already confronting cultural edge.
The links between such grisly scenarios and Sydney’s Tombstone Ramblers are tenuous, but potentially significant. When Ricky Drabsch, former bass player in the Dolly Rocker Movement, found himself ensconced in Canberra for a year, Drabsch bunkered down and set about writing the songs that would eventually appear on the Tombstone Ramblers’ debut eponymous album.
It’s difficult to identify the pigeon hole into which to forcibly shove Tombstone Ramblers: the opening instrumental track, The Last Ride Of Pablo Esteban is gringo psychedelia spiked with Chuck Berry issue amphetamine rock’n’roll; The Ballad Of Will Kane jumps on a box car and rattles all the way past the Mason-Dixon line with an armful of Hank Williams records and a bottle of cough mixture. Heavily Sedated is folk-punk for the Summer of Love survivors, Take It Down Easy gets down and dirty on the beach and Elvis is alive and well in Touch Of A Woman, prescription barbiturates and all.
On Keep On Ramblin’ Tombstone Ramblers are a slick bunch of motherfuckers wandering the streets under the watchful guise of Speedball Baby. I Think I’m In Love is so dirty it warrants treatment in an STD clinic, Baby, I Want You Back is Jon Spencer on brown acid and Black Hair, Red Lips forces Marc Bolan into the margins of Australian boogie rock and has a freaking good time. The Alpha And Omega is Gloria in disguise, The Morning Light is Dick Dale meets Eye Of The Tiger doused in acid and Lucky Day is just a nice country rock track to play to your good ol’ gal (or guy). It’s been a ramblin’ good time; y’all come back sometime.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: The Last Ride of Pablo Esteban
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: THE PRETTY THINGS, TY SEGALL, HEAVY TRASH, DOLLY ROCKER MOVEMENT
In A Word: Rattling
