Flamin' Hellcats

When you get right down to it, perfect rock and roll is a pretty simple thing. All too many people forget that, and cut pure rock with all kinds of additives in the name of creativity. Some of these divergent blends are interesting in their own right, true, but sometimes you just need it straight. Enter the Flamin' Hellcats. Reveling in the perfection of rock and roll in its most basic forms, the local trio prefers the swagger of swinging eighth notes and walking basslines, clean vocals and twangy guitars to the snide, overly self-conscious muso embellishments that often drain rock music of its very rock-ness. Paying homage to proto-­rockers like Bill Haley and Carl Perkins, but with an ethos born of punk, the Hellcats sound a bit like the '50s on fast-forward. Hey, if you prefer your rock with mixers, that's just fine. But if you want it strong and neat, the Flamin' Hellcats — whose first album in several years is due soon — serve "101% Texas Vato-Billy," which equates to about 200 proof rock and roll.