Fat City bestows much praise upon The HorrorPops!
Let me be the first to say Brody who? If Hellcat was looking to add a little estrogen to the family and replace the Distillers along the way, HorrorPops will fill the void nicely. This is no token "girl group," this band is in it to win not just fill a quota on the punk rock census.
Built from the ground up by a handful of Copenhagen musical mainstays (most notably Kim Nekroman of the Nekromantix and former Peanut Pump Gun singer/guitarist Patricia) HorrorPops refuse to be classified. They equally traverse 80s pop, 50s doo-wop and good old fashioned rock and roll with ease. Patricia, with her haunting Debbie Harry meets a young Gwen Stefani voice, really lays down a solid foundation on which everyone builds. From there the drums interlay seamlessly with the stand up bass and well placed guitars on this wild ride.
There are numerous elements which tug at the interests of a wide range of music fans on Hell Yeah. From the pogo-inducing, fist-pumping "Just A Girl" for the new millennium, "Drama Queen," to the 2-Tone revival of "Girl In A Cage" and the surf-rock bombast of "Horror Beach," there's something for everyone.
The best track, hands down, has to be the nostalgic "Dotted With Hearts." Conjuring up images of the dawn of rock and roll with The Ronnettes, HorrorPops may have a radio single on their hands here if they can get past Kim Nekroman's spoken interlude in the middle of the song. It's fine on the album but wouldn't really translate well for the afternoon drive.
Certainly not new kids on the block -- they actually formed in 1996 -- HorrorPops can really breathe some fresh air into this stale punk scene. Most new artists deliver the same punk by numbers routine with predictable songs and unimaginative music. This band transcends all that nonsense without a single hint of pretense. They manage to make music fun again and from what I hear, their stage show -- complete with go-go dancers -- is even wilder. Owning this CD is mandatory.
Toby Juarez
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