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The Bad Detectives are a bunch of wonderful British lunatics who sound as if they were raised in a nursery where West Coast 1950s rock played nonstop while they watched drive-in movies with the sound turned off. B-Movie Beat is their second proper long play, the follow-up to 2005’s GET HIP - LET RIP. They’ve also released a few EPs as well as appearances on various compilations. B-Movie Beat is either a serious parody or a light-hearted tribute. Or both. Or something else.

I’m In Love With The Mole Man’s Girl probably best illustrates what is great about these guys. It’s a rockabilly novelty tune that would not have sounded out of place in heavy rotation on late 1950s’ AM radio. Such songs by Sheb Wooley and Billy Lee Riley were not unusual back then, and their tongue-in-cheek, science-fiction message resonated with their audience, who would drive around on Saturday nights (gas was a quarter a gallon) with the top down and the radio volume up. Similarly, Rang Up To Hang Up with its unapologetic, perfectly placed Hawaiian guitar is a slice of one-hit wonder teen idol pop, a perfect put-down song even as, in context, it would created a catchphrase for fifteen minutes of fame. The additional use of cheesy organ (Bubble Car, Who Cut Your Hair) evokes a less sophisticated time, while Muddy River recalls, at least in spirit, teenage tragedy songs like Moody River by Pat Boone, Tell Laura I Love Her by Ray Peterson, and Patches by Dickey Lee. Johnny Cash meets Horton Heat, meanwhile, on Texarkana Moonlight.

Don’t think, however, that The Bad Detectives are a party band in the mode of, say, Sha Na-Na or Phil Dirt and the Dozers. There’s some serious musicianship in this B-Movie Beat, and the compositions, while tongue in cheek, are respectful of what has gone before. The Bad Detectives have not made any inroads into the American market yet --- an irony since their music is firmly rooted in 1950s rock n’ roll --- but that may well change, and soon.

There seems to be a revived interest in this type of music, which has never really gone away, and as the playing field for artists continues to level, we may hear more from these guys sooner than might otherwise be expected. Recommended.