he Sadies are expert hired hands. The group has worked as the backing band for artists as varied as Jon Spencer and Neko Case and have an amazing ability to emulate nearly any genre or style. So when they were asked by Ron Mann (award winning director of Comic Book Confidential and Grass) to supply backing tracks for a largely animated movie documenting the life of artist/cartoonist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (a key figure in Southern California’s custom car and hot rod movement of the 1960s), it was a no-brainer. An homage to 50s and 60s instrumental rock? When do you want it, Ronnie?

Hot on the heels of their recent double live album, The Sadies exchange extremities on Tales of the Rat Fink, blasting out 26 songs in 30 minutes, with nary a word spoken except for a gruff-voiced riff on art appreciation. As a soundtrack to a documentary I haven’t seen, it’s hard to place the songs contextually, but as stand-alone tracks, bereft of the visuals that inspired them, the tunes are a tight, taut tribute to hot rods, custom cars, and California culture.

Recorded on location during tour downtime, tracks for Tales of the Rat Fink were put to tape wherever The Sadies happened to be, hence the lo-fi fuzz that finesses some tunes, and the song titles—which were named after venues the band has played. In all, 60 pieces of music were submitted, with 48 used in the movie, and the best featured here.

Ranging from 30 seconds to three minutes, the songs sucker punch Dick Dale’s surf rock, romp around with rockabilly, and tip their cap to country twang. There’s also a polite nod to Pulp Fiction’s Link Wray affected rock, while the ghost of Duane Eddy haunts throughout, with reverb and echo being the pedals of choice. A few anomalies sit amongst the instrumentals accrued here; an accordion-accented “The Ship and Anchor” sounds like it slipped off the Amelie soundtrack, while “The Borderline,” befitting its name, mines the Ennio Morricone spaghetti western field.

Sadly though, a majority of the songs are just too damn short—several songs end just as they’re getting interesting. With this in mind, Tales of the Rat Fink won’t be included in any year-end lists, and probably won’t even make it into many record collections; anyone wishing to while away 30 minutes on instrumental rock will already own something by Dick Dale or Link Wray. That being said, The Sadies have injected a fresh shot of adrenaline into the genre, bringing it to life whilst peppering it with their own personality, much like Ed Roth and his Rat Fink creation. The only question? What’s next?