CRITIC'S CHOICE

Flat Duo Jets, with Reverend Horton Heat, Friday, March 11, at the Mercury Cafe, hail from the hallowed ground of Chapel Hill, North Carolina-- home to promising alternative rookies such as Superchunk and Polvo. Yet the Jets are a different kind of beast altogether. Comprised of guitarist/ vocalist Dexter Romweber and a drummer known only as Crow, the band avoids the punkier sounds associated with its hometown in favor of a raunchy style of rip-snorting rockabilly that crosses paths with the Cramps, the Workdogs and the headlining Reverend himself. On their latest Sky Records release, White Trees, the duo mixes everything from hyperactive surf music ("Tura Satana") and dirty Delta blues ("Big John") to ornery C&W shtick ("Husband of a Country Singing Star") and straight-up rock and roll ("Where Are You Now"). The result is a loony concoction that would have befit Elvis had he discovered drugs at the height of his career rather than just prior to its ultracheesy conclusion.