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Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell (Deluxe)

This was the last thing I was looking forward to this year. While I think there’s a ton of interesting ground that the psychobilly movement could be exploring, the majority of bands that cross my plate would rather stick to the genre’s b-horror movie shtick rather than take a more adventurous path. The initial press for Horrorpops featured the usual imagery and even the frontman of Nekromantix, a band that's a lot of fun but dosen’t hesitate to lay on the kitsch. From such an introduction one assumes HorrorPops are simply a female fronted Nekromantix with go-go dancers.

That’s only partly true. While the influence of the Danish psychos is easy to see, Kim Nekroman takes a backseat to the captivating presence of frontwoman / bassist Patricia. While it’s easy to underestimate her and the band on paper, Hell Yeah! is surprisingly engrossing and satisfyingly original. At different moments Patricia’s vocals call to mind Deborah Harry, Gwen Stefani and even Ronnie Spector. The influence of 60s girl-group pop and 80s new wave make this far from typical psychobilly, a label I’m finding far too narrow to describe this band's songwriting.

“Julia” kicks things off with a shameless lifting of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” bass line and introduces Patricia to those of us outside the Netherlands in fairly typical psychobilly fashion. However the poppy “Drama Queen” leaves that mold behind, even more so with the snotty rock of “Ghouls” and the 2-tone “Girl In a Cage.” “Where They Wander” is classic punk rock, followed by the greaser rockabilly of “Kool Flattop.” The number of styles the band pulls off cohesively is quite a feat. It’s the kind adventurous and roots acknowledging songwriting from which great albums are made.

This record will inevitably be ignored by image conscious indie-snobs put off by the band’s less-than-serious imagery. They’ll go into this expecting some level of irony to justify the band’s over-the-top visuals but won’t find it. However artwork aside, Hell Yeah! is packed with so much infectious songwriting that there’s no need to fall back on the usual trappings of the psychobilly genre. Give this a chance, because HorrorPops have the variety, style and ultimately the staying power that’s missing from so many punk bands today.



People who liked this also liked:
Rancid - Rancid (2000)The Deadly Snakes - Porcella -or- A Bird in the Hand Is Worthless [12 inch, double LP]Bouncing Souls - Anchors AweighBrand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside MeTiger Army - III: Ghost Tigers RiseThe Clash - London CallingBouncing Souls - The Gold RecordThe Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!Greg Graffin - Cold as the ClayThe Slackers - Peculiar



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    Posted by tittytwisterbudy on 2007-02-16 01:07:05
    My Score:

    ehh its a good album but not great. definitly a good one to own if youre into psychobilly though. i would suggest the creepshow over the horrorpops for female vox in psycho, but thats just me:)

    Posted by punkake2002 on 2006-09-21 13:14:24

    This is certainly a great album. Not a perfect one, but a great one. It is recommended for people that are starting to get into psychobilly since it is much poppier than other psychobilly releases.

    It is easy to realize that the album was a compilation of old and new songs because the sound quality in some songs (such as ghouls) is not as clean as others.

    Posted by gecie on 2004-09-25 18:40:24
    My Score:

    I bought this CD the day after hearing Ghouls cause I randomly downloaded the video. I was actually expecting to listen to it once and forget I owned it. But I almost instantly fell in love with it. Its one of the few CDs I can listen to straight through again and again. Very awesome review, and CD.

    Posted by Budde_Boy on 2004-07-28 11:14:58
    My Score:

    Love this album! Good times, good times....

    Posted by jme on 2004-07-24 21:29:05
    My Score:

    I love the horrorpops. I'm obsessed!! The go go dancers are hot!!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 5, 2004 at 9:34 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    im not usually into this type of shit but "hell yeah!" is about one of the greatest albums ive heard in my lifetime

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, May 24, 2004 at 6:49 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i just fucken love it!!! and fuck all you that dont like it.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 5, 2004 at 10:35 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    punk kids :

    its obvious you have no clue what you're talking about when it comes to rockabilly or psychobilly beyond hellcat releases. so keep your mouths shut or better yet turn off the computer and go spend mommy's money at hot topic.

    anyone who makes blanket statements such as "..... cause rockabilly sucks" deserves to have their hands chopped off so they can't spread their ignorant opinions online any further.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, February 16, 2004 at 2:25 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    this album grows into you and is even better every other time you listen to it.

    Impressive debut.

    btw the singer has a very sexy voice.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 10:32 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Great release, hopefully the clueless ones who run Epitaph/Hellcat will promote this for awhile.

    It blows away the Nekromantix last record.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 13, 2004 at 5:52 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    uhm, not so bad, actual I indeed like the spirit that you have in your drums...
    And by the way...hope to see you in Denmark as well...i do enjoy all the tatoos!

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2004-02-12 23:33:59
    My Score:

    I dig this record, it's fun to listen to, which is more than I can say for a lot of recent releases.

    Posted by Shindo on 2004-02-12 14:56:20
    My Score:

    DevilDog or whatever your name was:

    I just deleted your comment. It was an accident. Sorry dude.

    -adam

    Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2004-02-12 14:43:03
    My Score:

    "Oh bing.... Why does it suck, please spread your wisdom-oldpunker-"

    I don't think it's really you. Where's the CAPS LOCK.

    Posted by ashton on 2004-02-12 13:16:47
    My Score:

    I need your help now.

    i like nekromantix, i like tiger army, i like the cramps, and so on.

    horrorpops are opening for the offspring here in sweden in a month, is it worth the hassle to actually order the album? (it's not released here and import taxes are 50% and it takes like 2 weeks).

    Or should i just download it and buy it there if i like it?

    i just anwered my own question..

    JO GAT PONKT. or whatever.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 4:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    yeah, i hate 99 percent of rocka/psychobilly, but this i can dig.

    --Cos

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 1:43 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Oh bing.... Why does it suck, please spread your wisdom-oldpunker-

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 1:08 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    ...Or maybe this record will be ignored by image conscious indie-snobs because rockabilly fucking sucks!

    --Bing Crosby

    Posted by fat_city_magazine on 2004-02-11 10:45:42
    My Score:

    I don't really care too much for the Nekromantix but this CD is very good. The styles aren't all that similar between the two bands.

    Posted by greg6711 on 2004-02-11 08:08:03
    My Score:

    don't care for Nekromantrix, so I don't know that i'd like them..

    However, good reviewer, reviewer, I think there should be a prize for you.

    Posted by 8dollarclarinetsolo on 2004-02-11 00:36:03
    My Score:

    the title would be better if it was "hell! yeah!"

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2004-02-10 21:40:42
    My Score:

    Yeah, but you probably downloaded those songs and burned them, right? This CD-R was sent for review. Talk about your shoddy promotional techiniques.

    Posted by inagreendase on 2004-02-10 17:58:12
    My Score:

    My Pinhead Gunpowder compilation was on a CD-R too, but there's no track disruption and the quality's fine, so it's all the same to me.

    P.S. another fine review, adam

    Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2004-02-10 17:30:55
    My Score:

    I want an MP3

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2004-02-10 16:52:44
    My Score:

    The one I got was on a CD-R, I'll never forgive this band for that. Actually, I don't care, because it wouldn't play.

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2004-02-10 14:55:08
    My Score:

    Buying this shit thursday along with the descendents ep.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at 2:08 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Great great stuff

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at 1:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    1950's Halloween Punk is the best ever

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at 11:47 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Already went out and got this, very good,a nice break from the norm, if you dig tiger army and a little sousxie thrown in!!-oldpunker-

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