"Louisville Babylon 2"

Louisville Babylon 2
(Louisville Is for Lovers)

In high school in Florida in the 1990's, my (few) friends and I had what we thought was a secret love - the comically over-the-top, doo wop-inflected horror punk of a band from New Jersey who had broken up before they got too boring or, worse, popular. What we didn't know then, in those awkward days between the fall of Communism and the mainstreaming of the internet, was that the Misfits were a secret shared by kids everywhere.

Up in Louisville, a 1994 Misfits tribute was lovingly complied and now, 13 years later, the new generation is at it. The new versions of old favorites range from hillbilly to goth synths to preppy pop. While it's interesting to hear My Morning Jacket reduced to a too-reverential copycat, the collection peaks when Ronnie Mack and Ponty's Camper put some Kentucky on 'em, and Dave Pajo and Wax Fang slow 'em down like 30-somethings should.

C. 2007 LEO Weekly