Dead Girls Don't Cry,
NekromantixWith an album title that could be the punchline to either the best or worst joke in the world (depending on your sense of humour), the ‘mantix play a particularly dark version of that manic style known affectionately as Psychobilly. All the genre staples are here, from the relentless clicking of the stand-up bass to the tongue-in-cheek gothic humour but that’s not to say that ‘Dead Girls…’ is a predictable or easily digested album.
The frantic pace of quality tracks like ‘Backstage Pass To Hell’ and the strangely affecting ode to the dangers of drink-driving ‘Struck By A Wrecking Ball’ set the standard, pounding along with an irresistible rhythm and subtitled by Kim Nekroman’s Danzig-esque vocals. It’s all effortlessly melodic while being consistently fast and heavy, with ‘Where Do Monsters Go’ combining the Nekromantix’s ability to play ridiculously fast with their trademark horror schlock. Sounding like a parody of a 50’s B-Movie plot, it ably demonstrates their lyrical bent and musical style in an apt showcase that condenses the entire album into a couple of minutes of soaring choruses and breakneck guitars.
Impressively enough, and rather surprisingly when you consider how strong the aforementioned faster songs are, the Nekromantix are also able to take the pace down a notch or two while retaining their trademark sound and blackly comedic themes. The title track is the perfect illustration of this, thudding along as the sacrifice of speed is counterbalanced by a powerfully rhythmic stomp that loses no power or violence, rather like ‘I’m A Shockstar’ which takes a casually bluesy approach to the ghoulish rock ‘n roll sound that pervades ‘Dead Girls…’. It’s hard not to nod your head as the rich bass tones seem to ooze out of the speakers, urging the music onwards and ensuring that the band can easily switch between traditional rock or blues motifs (as with ‘…Shockstar’) as well as slip back into the fevered psychobilly thrash of ‘World Of Dust’ without appearing jarring or disjointed.
I’m not going to pretend to be even the remotest authority on psychobilly but I know what I like and I love this album. It’s genuinely exciting listening because it swerves around from blues to rock to frenzied punk at the click of a bass string, but all the time staying true to the dark themes that the band are so attached to. It’s the sound of a band making a decision to operate within a genre and being sufficiently talented and innovative to impressively pull it off without once reverting to cliché or overly-familiar images. And what other disc is going to consist almost primarily of disturbingly ethereal chanting?
Ben
www.nekromantix.com
www.hell-cat.com
