Category: Rockabilly

Buzzkillz – Scum Of The Earth


Debut album from Helsinki Finland act, Buzzkills. 12 tracks of punk/punkbilly from up near the top of the word.

As always, it thrills me to get to hear bands from all around the world. Buzzkills is no exception. Here I am in sunny SoCal and listening to a band from damn near the other side of the world. I’ve never been to Finland, but here I am participating in a little bit of their culture, by way of an offering into our common culture of music.

Buzzkillz deliver a solid blend of rock, punk, and rockabilly. They’re an interesting ensemble in that they are a four-piece rock and roll band with the tradition lineup of vocals, guitar, bass, drums. Where the band differs is in their use of double bass as opposed to electric. The overall effect reminds me a bit of The Peacocks, but, well, different.

Tracks mid to uptempo, with a blend of Western rock / cowpunk, reminisicient in a way of Social Distortion, or perhaps more Mike Ness solo. The tracks are sung in English, so as to be more accessible to a larger audience.

The band indicates that they will have new material coming out at the end of the year, so go check out their debut and get in on the ground floor. Tell all your friends that you heard ‘em before they were cool!

https://buzzkillzband.bandcamp.com/

Tracks:
1. Sick Of It All 02:41
2. Deepest Pockets 03:33
3. I’m Not The One 04:08
4. Scum Of The Earth 03:20
5. Losing The Fight 03:04
6. Outside 03:46
7. Fear Of The Unknown 03:31
8. Roll The Dice 04:34
9. Monsters 02:55
10. Some Scars 03:09
11. Sleepwalking 03:18
12. Cross To Bare 03:58

Vultures – I’m Bad

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©2010
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Here I am in a position, once again, where I get to both critique and possibly introduce music from around the world to an entire new audience. At the moment, I’m listening to “I’m Bad”, a three track demo of macabre punk-a-billy from Ruma, Serbia. How freakin’ cool is that? Pretty freakin’ cool if you ask me.

The three tracks have the death and ghoulishness of Psychobilly down pat with a little metallic tinge on the guitar work. The tracks are in English and the vocals are articulate. Musically, I’d be hard pressed to distinguish Vultures as being from any particular region or not. I suppose that is neither here nor there, but it certainly is a testament to the impact that rock and roll music has had around the globe.

At any rate, Psychobilly is (dead) alive and well the world over and Serbia’s Vultures are proof to that. Let’s hope that there is a full-length release in the works.

–Jerry Actually

Dead Dick Hammer – Welcome Home Babydoll

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© 2010 Dead Dick Records
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band is a ghoulish undead trio from the hellbilly area of Kentucky’s Temple Hill. Apparently the band died in their rockabilly prime sometime, I gather, around All Hallows Eve, 1957. The opening haunt, 10.30.57 is an eerie tribute to their demise.

Welcome Home Babydoll unearths eight rocking tracks (and a mystery number) all very much focusing on the macabre. Themes center on such pleasantries as stalking, domestic violence, murder and necrophilia; All the things that you love, of course. Presumably tongue-in-cheek, but the disc does have an overwhelming air of misogyny about it. I suspect it is merely thematic, but if it were any other genre of band, it would sit pretty uneasy.

The music is a dark combination of 50s style rock and rockabilly. Think of perhaps: Big Bopper meets Elvis Hitler with a bit more hillbilly swagger in the mix. The sound is a mix of rockabilly and harder more distorted punk ala many psychobilly acts. It is solid, performed and recorded well and certainly blends well to the dark nature of the subject matter.

Overall, a solid debut from Dead Dick Hammer, though I should certainly hope that they’d be able to hone their craft in the over 50 years of practice time they’ve had. At any rate if you like your rockabilly server dark cold and dead, then Dead Dick Hammer has got just what (whether you want it or not)

–Jerry Actually

For fans of: Elvis Hitler, Sour Mash Whiskey, Stabbing

Tracks:
1. 10.30.57
2. Elcumino
3. Welcome Home Babydoll
4. She Likes It Ruff (My Baby)
5. Sweet Connie
6. Creep’r Creep’n
7. Girl I Won’t Hit You
8. Black & Blue

Cold Blue Rebels – Blood, Guts, N’ Rock & Roll

© 2011 Horror High
Rating: ★★★★☆

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Imagine yourself walking through an apocalyptic 1950s Hollywood. An ominous wind howls down empty streets. A bone white moon hangs in the sky. The unsettling calm is replaced with the the sound of engines revving and tires squealing. The moon turns to blood. The scraping of shuffled feet draws near. In seconds you’re surround by pompadour-bedecked greasers and buxom undead vamps with low cut tops and the worst intentions. The upright bass begins to thump out a rhythm. Guitars wail. You don’t seem to mind that your brains are now becoming a meal.

For the undead rockabilly / psychobilly set amongst you, get yourself prepared to rock with the Cold Blue Rebels. Blood, Guts, N’ Rock & Roll is the brand new release from straight from Hollywood’s freshest dug graves.

Musically, the Cold Blue Rebels (CBR) run the psychobilly spectrum from the Stray Cats sounding, “Cold Blue & Beautiful” to a more straight up punk sounds of “Brain Food” and the Mad Sin-esque tones of “Drenched In Black”. Frankly it is nice to hear this amount of variety in what can often be a rather one-trick-pony sub genre.

Blood, Guts, N’ Rock & Roll does have, for better or worse, the trappings of the genre: zombies, zombie hookers, death, blood, gore, presented in a 50s horror film style. For what it’s worth though, a good part of the charm of psychobilly is the revision of the rockabilly culture with the horror kitsch spin; fast cars, fast guitars, switch blades, and the undead. … you know, right?

Pound for pound a damn fine effort for a bunch of undead.

For fans of: Stray Cats, Mad Sin, Elvis Hitler, Gene Vincent’s Ghost

Tracks:
1. Procession Of The Crypt Keeper
2. Cold, Blue And Beautiful
3. Hell Block 13
4. Worm Hole Hooker
5. Pumpkin King
6. Big Boss Man
7. Lil’ Grave Robber
8.Sock Hop Strangler
9. Brain Food
10. Zombie Love
11. Drenched In Black
12. Riot In Cell Block #9

Mickey Finn and the gals

Them Damned Young Livers – Psalms of Ill-Repute

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Rating: ★★★½☆
© 2010 Them Damned Young Livers

Kansas City’s finest cow punks are back with a new one boys. Time to circle the pickup trucks, tap the kegs and have one hell of a throw down. I assure that it is exactly what Jesus would do. Psalms of Ill-repute picks up off where 2008’s Let The Sin Begin Leaves off, more or less hung over praying to the lord while drinking booze hoping to avoid that next DUI.

Where the current release takes a departure from previous material is in the raw DIY 60’s garage sound. This new, more rough hewn, sound is readily picked up on the first track. The swirling Hammond sounds on “White Bride Escort Service Inc.” primes the listener for a different TDYL experience. This is further augmented by the 70s rebel outlaw rocking of track 8 “Armed and Crazy”. But don’t fear, the same rowdy, drunken, preaching and rocking is still very much present in Psalms of Ill-repute.

The new disc delivers on 13 solid tracks of pasture-inspired booze-fueled rock and roll, the nefarious evil of which can only be tempered by desperate prayers and even more liquor. As a testament to the power of either the former or the latter, the songs of “Ill-repute”, while definitely more raw, are also better crafted. The combination of tighter composition and gritter production lends to on fine drinkin’ CD.

-Jerry Actually

For fans of: Hank III, Georgia Satellites, Reverend Horton Heat, Beer

Track Listing:
1. White Bride Escort Service Inc
2. Love Fight
3. Devil Out The Back
4. All Hell
5. Baby I’m Gone
6. Drinkin (Again)
7. Please Help Me Jesus (I Don’t Wanna Get Pulled Over Tonight)
8. Armed And Crazy
9. Please Stay
10. Georgia On A Fast Train
11. Bus Broke Down
12. Theme From Them Damned Young Livers (Another Song)
13. That Hip Hop You Speak Of

Mad Sin – Burn and Rise

(c) 2010 People Like You Records

Rating: ★★★★½

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Legendary Psychobilly band-deluxe, Mad Sin, is back with a brand new release.  Burn and , released on 04/23/2010, marks the eleventh release from these German born psychos.  It has been twenty three some odd years since Mad Sin was born out of youthful ideals and punk rock attitude.

Twenty three years appears to be the magic number for breathing new life. While 2005’s Dead Moon’s Calling was no slouch of a release, it lacks that vitality that is apparent on Burn and Rise. It appears that unlike a lot of bands who somehow keep trucking over the years, spewing out increasing blandness and living off their past, Mad Sin keeps getting better and stronger. I think that it is fair to say that Burn and Rise is my favorite release yet.

From what I understand, 2009 was a rough year for Mad Sin, including the death of friends, infighting amongst the band and a brush with death for Koefte Deville. Life in general and a hard living rock-n-roll lifestyle were taking their toll. Yet after all the hardship, the band persevered. They rallied and came back to record a power-house of a release; a true testament to the idea that what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger.

The nineteen tracks in total (with intros and outros and all that rot) don’t fail to impress with speed, intensity, demon fueled guitar riffs, characteristic vocal inflections and a very full solid sound. Despite the darkness and gloom that is so closely associated with the genre, Burn and Rise is spewing forth with brand new life.

The last word is this, Mad Sin is an integral part of the core of Psychobilly today and Burn and Rise is a juicy bit of blood red icing on a coffin shaped cake.

–Jerry Actually

Peacocks – In Without Knockin’

(c)1999 Jump Up Records
Rating: ★★★★★

Oh my God, these Swiss cats fucking rock. Punkabilly with a slight two-tone twist. This disc is not to be missed. If you don’t like it then you’re a DICK!. This CD is the second release from Switzerlands Rockabilly combo “Peacocks” In Without knocking left me wanting more and more and in bad need for a U.S. West Coast Tour. From the gritty Rockabilly of “You’re Not Better” to the silly acoustic of “Fleamarket” Peacock’s are a blast buy this album play it for your friends, play it for your mom. I’m taking these guy to the top of the stairs so get out of the way

–Jerry Actually

’09 – I apologize for the poor punctuation. I’m so going to see these guys in July.

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HorrorPops [Kiss Kiss Kill Kill]

HorrorPops – Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (c) 2008 HellCat RecordsHere we are in the still wee months of ’08 and here at !upstarter, we already have amassed a collection of great releases for the new year. Among them is the soon to be released, (Feb. 5th) HorrPops record “Kiss Kiss Kill Kill”. What started as a bit of an experimental side project for Kim Nekroman and wife Patricia Day has turned into an alt-psycho-surf-punk-pop-wave juggernaut. “Kiss Kiss…” follows somewhat behind the heels of 2005’s “Bring it On” and returns to the three-piece roots of the bands debut “Hell Yeah!”. The new disc features 12 tracks of goodies including: Track 2 “Missfit” an snotty attribution against the “right side of the tracks” society. Track 4 “Disco” an affront on current day 80’s disco whores and Track 11 “My Picture” a pining tale of breakups and cheaters. Despite being a slower release than I was hoping for, HorrorPops have taken a step back closer to home. I think the trio formula works for them, in so far as they can worry more about the music than an unecessarily extravagant production. That being said “Kiss Kiss Kill Kill” is a solid release. If you dig New Wave with Rockabilly underpinnings and vocals much akin to Siouxsie Sioux, pick this up when you can get your hot little hands on it. –Jerry Actually

Tiger Army [Music From Regions Beyond]

Tiger Army – Music From Regions Beyond (c) 2007 Hellcat Records Music From Regions Beyond, or if you are like me, Tiger Army:IV is the much anticipated release from SoCal Psychobilly mavens Tiger Army. This is the fourth full length release (not including The Early Years) and the band’s most polished effort yet. I have to be honest, I was very anxious and a little nervous that this release would be a vast departure from the Tiger Army that I enjoy. I was fearful that it would be more ‘commercial’. I’m pleased to announce that despite all the hype, Music From Regions Beyond remains true to form. All the darkness and soul searching is still intact in Nick 13’s songs. Despite the obvious pop rock production value in the recording, the tracks aren’t calling out to be majorly embraced by the radio rock community. As much as I wish Tiger Army success, I hope that they continue to achieve it while remaining true. So far so good. 2.) Hotprowl 3.) Afterworld and 9.) Hechizo de Amor are some of the stand out tracks, however, each and every one of them are damn good. All said, Music From Regions Beyond is a bad ass disc that will be loved by fans old and new.–Jerry Actually

Bamboula [Guilty Pleasures]

Bamboula – Guilty Pleasures (c) 2007 Wow man! These guys are rocking! Bamboula ROCK ROCK ROCK!! What a great 3 piece. The have a great psychobilly sound with a west coast flair. Their 14 great tracks take you in and the CD holds your attention the whole way through. I must say I would love to see these guys live, because if they can have this much energy on a studio release imagine what they could do live. So I would highly recommend checking these guys out. . It seems like the only down fall is it might be hard to get a hold of this CD but they do have myspace and a website. I give this release 8.5 out of 10.–Joey Socko