Boston.com loves the new HorrorPops CD!

Psychobilly, that punked-up blast of rockabilly and surf music doused in B-movie kitsch, may have earned a gloss of respectability when it was celebrated in a Vogue article last fall that included a how-to guide for achieving the sound and the look. But there's still an element of danger to the movement, thanks to the music's high-octane beats and the tattoo-drenched, tough-as-nails demeanor of its devotees. And it's hard to imagine a saucier incarnation of the sound than Danish rockers the HorrorPops. Their debut album can coo with sultry, retro charm and swooning electric guitar, and then kick your teeth in with moments of punk bravado, all carried by the thumping upright bass and tough-dame vocals of front woman Patricia Nekromantix. Her sultry voice teases like Gwen Stefani letting her bad girl run riot over a stray cat strut of bass line on album opener 'Julia,' while her devilish diva vocals evoke Siouxsie Sioux over a cool ska beat, peppered with tart splinters of guitar during 'Girl in a Cage.' Misfits-style 'woh-ohs' kick off 'Where They Wander,' which tears open into a furious rocker with a ripping beat, sawing electric guitars and snarling horror movie lyrics, while 'Dotted with Hearts' plays with a dreamy 'Beauty School Drop-out' style voice-over and tart girl group vocals. A sexy shot of psychobilly that captures the movement's mood as vibrantly as a pin-up girl tattoo.

By Sarah Tomlinson, Globe Correspondent
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