Horrorpops - Miss Take

Thu 22nd Apr, 2004 in Music Reviews

This two-track taste of Danish psychobilly is as quickly digested as a Chupa Chup – and almost as tasty. Around since 1996, Copenhagen’s Horrorpops are pitched somewhere near where the latter-day incarnation of The Cramps hang out: the less freaky and more poppy side of the road. More harmonies, less howling. They’re precisely what their name would lead you to believe: a bats-and-spikes wrapper that belies the sweetest candy. And hell, their lead singer’s giving the devil’s horns on the cover of this single. And their lineup features two go-go dancers. What more do you want from a band?

Well, maybe a bit of spark would be nice.

The two tracks here have been lifted from the band’s debut, Hell Yeah!, and if they’re anything to go by, it’d be a great party album. There’s not much in the way of depth – “woah-oh-oh!” and references to brain-lust is about as philosophical as things get – but then, the works of Sartre never were the easiest things to sing loudly while pissed and pogoing around the lounge room. They’re not reinventing the genre, really – how many times have you seen or heard this kind of ghoul-groove approach? But they’re at least passionate about their love of schlock. Certainly, the energy displayed here is pretty intense, and it covers a lot of the simplicity of the tunes: they’re both fairly standard three-minute rockers with nifty guitar solos.

It’s probably not the comparison that the band would want you to make, but vocalist and doghouse bass player Patricia sounds rather reminiscent of Gwen Stefani – indeed, there’s a sort of bad-girl-but-fun feel to the tracks here. Although it’s a credit to her ability that at times she manages to channel Siouxsie Sioux and Deborah Harry (who’re listed as influences on the band) – and even what sounds like our own Brigitte Handley – without making the listener think that she’s merely aping them. Where They Wander – definitely the strongest track on this single – is the perfect vehicle for her, too: it’s a Misfits-u-like thrasher with a fine New Wave-styled vocal line that has an irresistible beat that’ll have you out of the coffin in no time, largely due to the insistence of the vocals, keeping pace with the drag-racing bassline.

All in all, the tracks on this single are a pretty listenable example of how good tight, dumb psychobilly – is there any kind? – can be. The lead track, Miss Take, isn’t quite strong as it could be – and it certainly begs the question as to why it was the single choice – but the b-side’s a killer. They’re a damn tight band when they want to be, and while it’s probably true that, as with most rockabilly/psychobilly bands, the real measure of the group’s in their live performance – it seems records often are letdowns – they put in a pretty exhilarating couple of cuts here. If you’re a fan of the Zombie Ghost Train neck of the boneyard, you could do a lot worse than to check ‘em out.