The Housewreckers

The Housewreckers – Watch Out

Goofin’ Records GOOFY 6021 [1990]
I’m In Love – Dirty Night – One Comission – Last Moment – Brown Eyed Jenny – Ice Cold – Cause Ya Left Me – Back On The Road – Hardbeat Rock’n’Roll – Lover’s Blues – Please Don’t Touch – Two Request – Watch Out Baby – Little Sister (CD only)

Coming from Finland, the Housewreckers stood out in 1985 on the compilation Hell’s Bent on Rockin’ with Cause You Left Me, a wild and stripped-down Rockabilly. A few years later, in 1990, Teuvo ‘Teukka’ Aalto (guitar, vocals), Make Peltola (double bass), and Janne Junnila (drums ) released their debut album on Goofin’ Records, composed of twelve (thirteen on the CD) compositions (including a new version of Cause You Left Me) and cover of Johnny Kidd’s Please Don’t Touch.
The early sound, close to the Deltas, has given way to a more modern and refined Rockabilly, with multiple influences, the most obvious of which is that of Brian Setzer and Stray Cats.
The album opens with I’m In Love, a very good melodic Neo-Rockabilly. It’s not the most original track on the album, but it’s no less unstoppable. The sound hardens on Dirty Night, the next track. We almost have the impression of listening to an unreleased Batmobile song from the same period (Amazons From Outer, Space, Sex Starved). A short but brilliant slide solo completes the whole thing. We continue to explore more modern musical territories with One Commission, a ballad with pop accents on an almost Glam rhythm. This kind of song proves that Teuvo Aalto, with a little luck, could have scored a large-scale hit.
Return to a more traditional sound with the lovely fifties ballad Last Moment, which is on par with Stray Cats’ I Won’t Stand In Your Way. Moreover, Teuka’s solo doesn’t have to be ashamed of the comparison. After this moment of calm, we return to a heavy modern sound with Brown-Eyed Jenny and her Trouble-style breaks. Ice Cold is not a cover of Restless, but an excellent Neo-Rockabilly based on a riff close to Mystery Train and propelled by a superb rhythm section. Cause You Left Me is a complete rereading of the title released in 1985. It is more modern and has a big sound perfectly matching the group.
Back On The Road skillfully mixes modern rock with more pop sounds, and could easily have reached a wider audience and gone beyond the rock’n’roll sphere. No downtime and the group continues with Hardbeat Rock’n’Roll. As its title suggests, it’s a Rock’n’Roll that goes for it without asking any questions (or taking any prisoners for that matter).
We slow down the pace with Lover’s Blue, with more Jazz accents, evoking the standard My Daddy Rocks Me (With A Steady Roll) and Stray Cat Strut or a tune like Midnight Special by the Nitros. Despite everything, the group has enough personality to stand out from these overwhelming references. Once again we notice Teukka’s brilliant solo. Next comes an excellent cover of Please Don’t Touch, followed by a lighter and more radio-friendly Two Request (with an almost Ska rhythm).
The LP ends with Watch Out Baby, a fast and catchy boogie, with the group responding to the singer before the latter delivers two excellent Rock’n’roll solos of which he has the secret.