Keeping the faith in Medellín

Name: Dorados Rockabilly Trio

Where They’re From: Medellín, Colombia

Genre: Rockabilly/Punk

Most Similar: The Rock Tigers, Los Vigilantes

When They Started: 2009

Sounds Like: Ritchie Valens and Link Wray drag race in heaven

Rockabilly has never really gone out of style. Neither is it ever really in style. That’s kind of what being a classic means. Colombia’s Dorados Rockabilly Trio and their squarely rockabilly but also pretty punk rock debut Conflicto de Espacio Blanco (The White Space Conflict) is a shining example of this. These dudes makes tunes that sound every bit as killer now as bands did back when tattoos, power chords, tremolo and troubled youth first did the watusi.

Citing O.G. Gene Vincent and Social Distortion as major influences, the Dorados will readily admit there isn’t a huge a rockabilly scene in Colombia, but starting in their hometown of Medellín, this band of true believers is out to change that, one car show and tattoo convention at a time. They’re not crazy. History and a global community of music-loving greasers are on their side. (Confidential to Hanni El Khatib: Please take them on tour with you. It will be sweet, promise.)

There are rockabilly bands from Japan to Sweden. Right now though, we feel like the genre’s distinctive lovelorn vocal hiccups sound especially fine en Español. This might be entirely be cause we’ve been playing Conflicto de Espacio Blanco over and over again. It’s kind of a chicken or the egg question at this point. However this got started, tracks like “Bettie Page” and “Lucky Ones” are welcome on the radio of our lead sled anytime.

Get into their retro steez with the video for “Bettie Page,” featuring the lovely Miss Nentini flooring it in the role of muse: