Lewd, stewed and tattooed up the wazoo, these punky Euro-trashers consist of three greaser cowboys, a floozy chanteusie with a Siouxie Sioux sound and a butch brace of female prison guard go-go dancers. Of course, image being everything, the big punch line here is that despite looking like a buncha hell-bound heathens, they sound like Blondie on an amphetamine-fueled hillbilly bender.
Now I gotta admit that when I heard the opening song “Julia” begin with a note-for-note cop from “Tainted Love,” I was ready to write these candy stripers off as wanton wannabes. Then I made the mistake of giving Hell Yeah! a second confirming spin and was shamefully hooked by their professional playing and infectiously enthusiastic attitude.
Sure, I should’ve known better than to fall for this kind of obvious power pop ploy, but I guarantee you that years from now when these kids are in rehab, regretting getting all that ink, one thing they won’t have to feel ashamed of is this record.
After all, there’s a reason why, just like Iggy, they have the word POP in their name, dripping down in Raw Power lettering across an album cover that’s straight outta Crampsville. So don’t be surprised if they supplant Lux and Ivy as the popular choice of a brand new breed of rockabilly reprobates.
Because these Horrorpops ain’t your average all day suckers.
E-mail Jeffrey Morgan at [email protected].
