Let's face it; the rockabilly/psychobilly scene is definitely in need of a makeover. No, we're not talking about a Queer Eye For The Straight Guy re-tooling,...

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Let's face it; the rockabilly/psychobilly scene is definitely in need of a makeover. No, we're not talking about a Queer Eye For The Straight Guy re-tooling, but a favorable infusion of some external elements would be quite the refreshing bonus, particularly since the genre's popularity has steadily increased over the past decade-plus with little movement within the music itself.

After all, mutations in popular music are as commonplace as ever --- there's hipster alt-country, lunkheaded rap-rock and nü-metal, hell, even Spin magazine coined the frightful new genre of "emo-rap" for the latest breed of independent hip-hop releases which have nothing to do with Sunny Day Real Estate . A little branching off the steadfastly barren psychobilly tree of years past wouldn't necessarily hurt. However, the 'billy music scene has had a limitation, as it's been largely dominated by males, caught rolling around in their testosterone-fueled vintage American muscle machines, sporting their fresh arm ink while thrashing about with hollow-body guitars, upright basses at blazing tempos. The scene traditionally relegated women to bystander status, rarely looked upon participants or contributors to the musical movement, in terms of recording and performances.

HorrorPops presents Hellcat's solution to the aforementioned glass ceiling, with a Danish sextet fronted by upright bassist/vocalist Patricia Nekroman (and includes two "rotten go-go dancers/moaners and groaners.") If the surname reads familiar, that's because she's actually Mrs. Kim Nekroman -- and thus the namesake of her husband's main gig, Nekromantix (Kim also moonlights in HorrorPops as a guitarist/vocalist, though he's only known as his last name in this capacity.) Just one spin of the act's Epitaph debut, Hell Yeah!, and you'll realize that the female-fronted element is vital to HorrorPops' ability to stand out from the rest of the redundant league. Patricia's vocals -- blurred somewhere between Gwen Stefani and Siouxsie Sioux -- are first rate, neatly and succinctly layered just above the backing of traditional swing elements, which are blended deftly with current pop and rockabilly tinges.

Patricia isn't just a mere gimmick, either. She's versatile and downright fantastic, commanding here ("Psychobitches Out Of Hell" is a case in point), crooning there and often a perfect mix of both (scope the dynamic "Misstake" for a clear example). Her backing band is an equally top-notch ensemble -- loose enough to inject a healthy swing push-pull, yet straightforward enough not to appear as if it's coming apart at the seams.

So it's no mistake that HorrorPops arrive via Epitaph, a label that's been instrumental in virtually redefining punk rock as whole over the past several years. Downright fantastic, HorrorPops usher in a new breed of psychobilly that the genre had not only lacked, but also desperately desired.

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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,...

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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.

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