A couple of things up front: 1. I’ve known 2/3 of his band for nearly twenty years now, and for a time even terrorized Los Angeles County with drummer Robert Frank in Our Band Sucks; 2. I’m not much of a psychobilly fan these days and primarily view it as yet another moribund niche ruined by too many punters with too little originality. That said, I gotta say I dig the hell outta this. While the “billy” is decidedly the foundation here, they’ve tossed enough disparate styles into the batter to make for an interesting mélange of hardcore, rock’n’roll, punk, and death rock that remains consistently engaging over the course of the twelve tunes showcased. The band is tight, the guitars are blissfully loud, the tempos are speedy, and the “horror” vibe is tongue-in-cheek enough not to seem pretentious and serious enough to pull off the songs’ dark underpinnings. All in all, this is rock-solid, and I proudly proclaim myself among the ranks of their many admirers, not because I know ’em, but because they’re really fuckin’ good.
–jimmy (www.coffindraggers.com)