Dead - The Soundtrack (featuring Sparky Phillips)

(Crazy Love Records 2014)

Something a bit different this time around. Crazy Love Records have released the soundtrack to Sven Halfar's pulp flick Dead. The music on here is by Nils Kacirek And The Peng Peng Pony. It's best described as a cacophonic and surrealistic Ennio Morricone crossed with Ry Cooder sound throughout with some horns here and there giving off a bit of a Squirrel Nut Zippers kind of vibe. All instrumentals (except the ones I'm getting to in the next paragraph) and the majority of them are quite short. Well, it is a soundtrack album.

BUT...four of the ditties on here feature Demented Are Go's Mark "Sparky" Phillips on vocals. That right there is the selling point of the album for the psychobilly completest brigade. If you liked Sparky's collaboration with The Hillbilly Moon Explosion then you'll love these songs. They're very much of the same ilk but with an even darker feel and also feature some duetting with female vocals (Dorte Benzner). Some of the best material I've heard from our Sparkles to date. Demented Are Go fans should definitely add this to their collection.

The O'Prez

Degenerated "Aargh!"

(Crazy Love Records 2014)

Revenge Of The Hypnotoad

Ship Of Fools

Run Away

Take This Trip

Swamp Thing

Zombified Society

Never Again

Vampire Girl

Rock The Bong

Paranoia

Stompin' Shoes

Go My Way

Illusions

Psychobilly. The multifaceted bastardisation of rockabilly, punk, garage and whatever else you want to throw in to the mix for good measure. Born in the UK but nurtured and kept alive in mainland Europe with Germany being the big breasted lactating mother. So that very same German mother...or indeed Germammy has given birth to triplets in the form of Degenerated. Featuring Max, Sexy and Madman (of Psychobilly Online fame), the trio have released their début album and it's aurally and visually straight from 1984...not the book...the year...and what a fine vintage 1984 was too. I didn't like the album at all when I heard it first, second or even third time. It's like many phalluses (so I've been told) that fall under the "grower not a shower" category. Basically, if you take the four albums from Anagram's old Blood On The Cats series and stick the musical delights within those vinyl platters in to a blender then this album is the tasty result. Psychobilly has moved on and changed a lot over the years which is sometimes a good thing but more often than not the roots of the whole thing get completely lost in an overgrown punk with a double bass weed-filled garden. Degenerated are like a big bottle of weed killer.

The O'Prez

Degenerated on Facebook

BUY THE ALBUM!

The Lunatics "Come Nude!! Bring Beer!!!

(Crazy Love Records 2014)

Come Nude!! Bring Beer!!!

Anyhow

Sonntag

Gehirn Zum Wein

Iche Habe Die Frauen

Going Down In Flames

I'll Lead You

It Isn't Right

Flaschen-Karl

Things Like That

Bierlokal Am Baggersee

Geheimagent

Silence

Jerk

Seven Days Of Silence

Echte Mädchen

Spectres

The third album from Germany's Lunatics has a nice clean punchy psychobilly (bordering on neo rockabilly) sound. Instead of the usual horror fare they have that "feel good" thing going on with uplifting melodies that bring a smile to your face in a way that's reminiscent of the Long Tall Texans. To my ears the aforementioned Texans seem to be an influence on the band but I'm hearing traces of Lota Red and The Peacocks in the mix too. There are also some excellent vocal harmonies on here. It's not "psychobilly by numbers" so to speak. It's obvious the boys bring their separate influences in to the mix. What you get then is a variety pack of psychobilly, neo rockabilly, rock'n'roll and punk all stirred together in a cauldron using a slap bass. It's all low calorie and good for you too so don't be afraid to gorge on it!

The O'Prez 

The Lunatics Official

The Lunatics on Facebook

BUY THE ALBUM!

The Blackjackits "The Blackjackits

(Hippicrit Records 2014)

Transistor

Don't Tell Me

Betrayed

Carlene

Drown In My Youth

Crooked Mistake

Darling Blue

Signal Delay

Doors And Keys

Survival

Empty In Sage

True Loves Gone Away

Until Then

You Are My Weakness

Where Will I Go?

I've been keeping a close eye on this Californian trio for a long time so it's about bloody time they released this, their debut album. I get the impression from listening to this that they took their time in the studio because they wanted to create something unique. Yeah that's right...I said unique. No easy task in the formulaic world of psychobilly but by Jaysus they've succeeded. Now I've been saying "they" a lot but if truth be known this recording is all the work of front man Kenny Hill...multi instrumentalist and creative genius extraordinaire. As a live act though our Kenny is flanked by Kyle Olson on slap bass and Manny Lutz on drums. There's a definite nod to The Quakes psychobilly/new wave fusion on this album but with that said this is unlike anything I've ever heard before. Paul Roman may have been some kind of Svengali character lurking in the background of Hill's creative thought process but influences aside, as I said, this is unlike anything I've ever heard before, and I love it! It's as though The Blackjackits have created a new sub genre of psychobilly unto themselves. But it's not just psychobilly though, or a sub genre, or anything that should be labelled or pigeon holed (even though the boys themselves have coined the excellent term "American Slapwave"). Why not? It doesn't deserve to be constrained within any one genre. Not any existing one at least. The songs on here deserve to stand alone on their own merits and the listener can decide. I've made up my mind and this album is a work of art.  There's substance in abundance to Hill's lyrics and he has crafted some fine melodies throughout. It's quite simply one great song after another to the point where I was thinking to myself "well, surely he can't keep this up"...he does...in spades! Intelligent story telling through the medium of song is what it's all about on this album with Hill obviously drawing on life experiences which draws the listener into what appears to be his own dark, cold, rainy world. This is right up my street. Production values are pristine too. Everything is mixed to perfection and adds to the whole cruel world feel of the album. Lyrically downbeat but musically uplifting. Adam and the Ants created a whole new genre in the 1980s and The Blackjackits have followed suit in the new millennium.

The O'Prez 2014

The Blackjackits Official

The Blackjackits on Facebook

Hellstompers "Fire Walk With Me"

(Crazy Love Records 2013)

Diabolical Weapon

Crazy Train

True Rebel

Mavericks

Rolling Thunder

You Really Know What You Need

Overdrive

Black Hole

Alco Trip

Somebody Like Us

Virus

B-Movie

Fire Walk With Me

Let me preface this by saying that having your debut album released on Germany's Crazy Love Records is in itself an accolade as the company's name is synonymous with quality. So on to the all-important sounds within. The output from Russian bands in recent years has become tantamount to a psychobilly sound that is beating all competitors firmly across the buttocks with a pool ball in a sock. Psychobilly has remained successful in its own right now for close to 4 decades with NO input from the mass media which in my book is a positive because if those cunts got their hands on it it would turn into something akin to alcohol-free vodka and who the fuck would want that? Anyway, with success comes imitation and something successful gets imitated until it fails. Yes I'm once again speaking of the hordes of bands that refuse to sing in their natural voices and instead opt for bad Sparky impersonations. I've said it before and I'll fuckin' well say it again. I hate that. There's only one Demented Are Go and they're great. So bands DO YOUR OWN FUCKING THING...*gets a grip of emotions and....* well I can breathe a sigh of relief now because The Hellstompers do just that....their own thing! The sound is clean, it is what it says on the tin...psychobilly (leaning towards the first wave sound but not necessarily old school). I would have preferred a better bass sound but it is there to the fore nonetheless so don't let my bass sound nitpicking put you off...I just prefer a more woody sound and less boom and treble. Maybe it's my graphic equaliser settings. What sets psychobilly apart from its rockabilly cousin is that with the latter you know exactly what melodic direction a song is going to take from the opening chord or drum beat. The same I suppose can be said for some psycho songs but not so with the ditties The Hellstompers have crafted here. Yes they have an immediately recognisable psychobilly beat but there's twists and turns aplenty to keep you listening with bated ears. A fine inaugural release from a band I'll be keeping my eye on.

The O'Prez 2014

The Hellstompers on Facebook

Evil Devil "Bad Tales"

 

(Crazy Love Records 2013)

Property Of The Devil

Psycho Academy

The Beast Of Bodmin

Cursed By A Cornish Vicar

Sludge

Casillero Del Diablo

Revolver

5.9 MMS

Evil Ballad

Banned

Three Steps

In My Brain (Under My Nails)

The Walking Dead

 

People often comment on my musical tastes as being somewhat narrow minded. Well the people in question have obviously never heard psychobilly. It is at its essence a multifaceted genre - a genre made up of a multitude of separate genres with no rule book. Well, maybe the inclusion of a double bass is a rule but one that's not always strictly adhered to. Anyway, before I go off on another tangent, this, the latest release from Italy's Evil Devil is equal parts rockabilly twang, punk, metal and a twist of ska. It's a melting pot of varying musical influences but with psychobilly at its core. A lot of bands have obvious talent but the overall production on their studio albums can sometimes let them down. This can either be the fault of the studio guys not knowing how to bring out the sound of the slap bass or anything else for that matter or indeed the band issuing self-produced material. This is not the case here. The boys sound like a well-oiled machine. The music has the potential to appeal to a wider audience other than that of just the psychobilly underground. Luckily though the lyrics are included in the booklet or it would be anyone's guess as to what lead vox-man Angel was singing about. With that said though, his English is a lot better than my (non-existent) Italian. This album should definitely appeal to the fans of the harder side of psychobilly or anyone that likes a good aural rogering.

The O'Prez 2014

Evil Devil on Facebook 

Stressor "No More Panic"

(Crazy Love Records 2014)

Hit The Pig
No More Panic
Magician
Bye Bye, Love
200 Bones
Bang
November Song
Beautiful Bird
Woodpecker Rock
Evil Dark Road
Fool Fool Fool
Dance Like A Monkey
Earthquake Coming

 

I got in to psychobilly via the rockabilly route like many of the first (and perhaps second) generation psychobilly brigade did. Rockabilly had become watered down for mass consumption and there was nothing new or exciting about it. Then along comes its mental first cousin psychobilly giving the whole thing a well deserved kick in the scrotum. Now we fast forward to the present. Psychobilly is still going strong but like its Peter Perfect rockabilly cousin, a high percentage of it is just the same tired old formulaic growling with a repetitive click. Enter Stressor. Yes the classic psychobilly formula is there but it’s what they do with those ingredients that sets them apart. The vocals are not done with scare tactics, the guitar is clean, the drums punchy and the all important double bass has a woody resonance with audible notes. No mean feat considering the speed it’s being slapped at. No More Panic is the best album from Russia’s Stressor to date. The songs are well crafted and melodic. Upon hearing the song 200 Bones (and prior to reading the liner notes) I thought it was a cover of some catchy pop song that they stuck their psycho seal on but Google came back with nothing. This small fact is in itself testament to their song writing and arrangement skills. The production and mastering on the album is perfect for bringing out that “side of leg slapping” (the quiffed up version of long-haired aficionados air guitar) psychobilly beat. I absolutely love this album and it has immediately rose to the ranks of my go-to album for the aural pleasure of people wanting to know what this genre sounds like. It’s an oasis in a desert of psychobilly mediocrity.

The O’Prez 2014

 

Stressor Official