Messer Chups - CrazyPrice

Wed 28th Sep, 2005 in Music Reviews

Messer Chups’ latest release is a strange but pleasant journey through scenic 1960s sci-fi, surf, horror, and psychobilly moments. Crazy Price leans on the arm of ‘experimental’ but leaves behind the implications of overworked noise that is so often synonymous with the term.

A few minutes into this record Messer Chups begs the question- what retro sounding psychotic band would be complete without a theremin? Sure enough they have one… then throw in some drums, sax, guitar, bass, keys, perhaps a harp for good measure, and an endless supply of film samples and you might begin to form a picture.

Even the track list gives a pretty accurate description of what to expect – Ghost Rides to West, Diabolik Boogie and SuperSonik Vibrator conjure images of atomic Go-Go dancers and the living dead shaking their booty to surf sounds and horror pop.

The music, bubbly and full of temperament, certainly makes use of stereo as it bounces left to right across the speakers. While at times the entire recording seems like a single track, this feeling is broken when things periodically come to a halt, pausing for some time out.  Despite this springy stop-start motion, the only thing rough about this record is its classic horror film samples – the crackle of old tape only adding to this recording’s surprisingly smooth sound.

Although Messer Chups makes use of a large array of samples, they have managed to produce an atmospheric recording that retains a sense of melody. The sporadic bleeps and whooshes featured in this release run alongside guitar riffs and bass lines, creating a bizarre audio experience but also contribute to the songs’ structure and harmony. This seems to give the whole record a great balance of rhythm and melody, rather than creating a possible mess of detached sounds.

Messer Chups come to us from Russia (and Germany) with a somewhat mysterious background. According to Ipecac the original three members, their promoter (also musician), and theremin player were scattered over Europe and the Soviet, making it next to impossible for studio recordings – the group opting instead for tape swapping, creating recordings from these samples. The band has since grown and contracted leaving listeners baffled as to the actual line-up today, which seemingly adds to their appeal.

Crazy Price is a great listen, especially if you are into time travel and the unfamiliar. Yet strangely enough this record at first feels like 1960s Americana rather than anything created by a group across the Soviet. Persist, and a few tracks in (with some more alien sounds and kitsch samples into the mix) the music is suddenly tied to a place – or a galaxy – much further away.