Slim Sandy and the Hillbilly Boppers

Crow-Matic Records 2018
Done Gone! – Chicken Shack Stomp – Romp and Stomp – I’ve Got the Boogie Blue

Though tempting, it’s not always evident, nor fair, to compare one band to another to describe its music. You can give a vague idea, but you can also fail to describe the band’s personality. And you can’t deny that Slim Sandy and the Hillbilly Boppers have tons of personality. Album after album they created their style and no contemporary band sounds like them.
If you ever asked yourself (be careful, it’s here that I slip the comparison) “What if the Delmore Brothers had recorded a session with the Cannon’s Jug Stompers?” I guess that the result would be quite close to Slim Sandy and the Hillbilly Boppers’ latest ep.
The title track is pure hillbilly yet rocking at the same time. Chicken Shack Stomp is in the same vein and features Mike Sadava on steel guitar. Both are sung by Slim Sandy.
The B-sides opens with Romp and Stomp. Willa Mae and Slim Sandy sing harmony vocals on that one. I wrote it in previous reviews but let me say it again: Willa Mae is a real plus to the band with her mastery of washtub bass and her contribution to the vocals. This is confirmed by Charlene Arthur’s I’ve Got the Boogie Blues on which she sings lead.
All in all, Done Gone is an excellent ep that encompasses the sound of the band perfectly. The vinyl adds to the beauty of the thing, especially with a cover drawn by Slim Sandy/Peter Sandmark. - The Rockabilly Chronicle

Gettin’ That Lowdown Swing
Slim Sandy and the Hillbilly Boppers
Crow-Matic
slimsandy.com
reviewed by Dave O Rama

Victoria’s Slim Sandy likes to keep his sound raw and stripped down. Fronting his Hillbilly Boppers on guitar and harmonica and backed up by German Ebert on snare and Willa Mae on washtub bass and harmonies this trio packs a punch. Their minimalist sound is part jump blues, part rockabilly, with a big splash of swing all dressed in hillbilly spirit.

Songs like Hug, Spank and A Kiss and Gene Vincent’s Be Bop A Lula, and We’re Gonna Bop pay homage to the true spirit of rock n’ roll, while Wow Wow Baby and Whoa Boy ride the rhythm and blues right onto the dance floor. There are ample nods to western swing stylings with numbers like Never Seen My Baby Alone, Bob Wills Cadillac Model A, Zeb Truner’s No More Nothin’, as well as the swinging title track. The rest of the selections are steeped in country blues and hayseed hellfire.

Willa Mae does a fine job when she takes over the lead vocal duties on The Coker’s We’re Gonna Bop, and The Collins Kids Hop Skip And A Jump, and when she harmonizes with lead man Slim Sandy it could set the barn afire. Slim Sandy and The Hillbilly Boppers are seasoned players, devotees of the Hillbilly Swing and veterans of the Canadian rockabilly scene; they’re a five alarm fire in a six inch skillet. With a devotion to authenticity and a keen fixation on the raw roots of old time rock n roll Slim Sandy runs a tight little unit with a big boppin’ sound. I swear more people need to know about this cool unit because they really deserve more attention and some serious exposure on the West Coast festival scene. If you want to throw the best porch party ever then take my advice, you’ll be needing to put Slim Sandy and The Hillbilly Boppers on your invite list. - BC Musician Magazine