Yep Roc Records loves the Seahawk. Week after week, there’s a new package with an advance copy of the Chapel Hill label’s latest offering, begging to be reviewed. It’s difficult to say how long that will last after this week’s issue.

Today’s installment of the Yep Roc saga comes in the form of Southern Culture on the Skids, and their latest effort, “Mojo Box.”

There are two types of bad music. One is the type in which the musicians lack talent or cannot play instruments well and the production is terrible. This kind of music is often very enjoyable to listen to and sometimes referred to as innovative. On the other hand, there can be extremely talented musicians recording in the nicest possible studio with incredible production, but the music is so overwhelmingly annoying or stupid that the listener is forced into cramming flathead screwdrivers into his or her ears just to make the noise stop. Thus bringing us to “Mojo Box.”

The eighth full length for the Chapel Hill trio, “Mojo Box” sounds excellent. Recorded at front man Rick Miller’s studio, The Kudzu Ranch, the album is spiked with vintage guitars and amps, giving it an impressive old-school surf-guitar feel. While the majority of the album is SCOTS’ trademarked redneck rockabilly sound, there are a few standout tracks, such as “The Wet Spot,” that are high-octane surf-guitar and would make even Dick Dale proud.

The problems arise for “Mojo Box” when the band decides that they want to sing. Here’s a sample off “Doublewide,” the record’s third track:

“Quittin’ my job, gonna grow myself a beard; Sit in the Lay-Z-Boy and drink some beer.”

Wow. A song can have the best possible production, but with lyrics as stupid as this, it’s hard to take the record seriously.

Guitar magazines are going to eat this album up; it’s full of vintage sounds and hot licks. However, there’s not a lot to offer a less musically inclined public, unless the listener thinks it’s all a joke and listens three times a day for the humor value. These guys need to drop the white trash, redneck shtick and focus on surf-guitar, because that was about the only tolerable stuff on the disc.

Much like label-mate and fellow Seahawk reviewee The Reverend Horton Heat, Southern Culture on the Skids are an obviously talented band with an already established fan base. However, “Mojo Box” is an indication that their army of fans won’t be growing any time soon.

If SCOTS still sounds intriguing, check them out Friday, Sept. 24 at the Soapbox downtown. Call 251-8500 for ticket info.