Music Review: Various Artists, Rock! Wreck! & Rule!

By Melissa Bratcher

What do you get when you marry B-movie sensibilities with punk ethos and rockabilly’s hard driving, stand-up bass flavored beats? Did you answer “psychobilly?” Of course you did.

As The Cramps were exploding into existence in the heady, post-punk mid-’70s, a swampy, gruesome scene was unfolding in the UK. Bands like The Meteors arose from the grave and put their own distinctive spin on rockabilly. Gone were songs about hot rods and high school. Instead, the songs were about zombies and murderers and psychotic breaks. In the ‘80s, the scene expanded and a handful of indie labels put out releases from Torment, The Sharks, Demented Are Go, and Guana Batz. As you may recall, there was a hot moment where the Stray Cats were huge. While, musically, the psychobilly bands share common ground with the Stray Cats, lyrically, it’s a whole other abattoir.

Cherry Red Records have released another meticulously curated collection of tracks you didn’t know you needed to hear from a genre you might not have known existed. With copious, thoughtful liner notes from Craig Brackenridge, author of Hell’s Bent On Rockin and Let’s Wreck (both chronicles of the psychobilly scene), Rock! Wreck! & Rule! boasts 40 tracks of insanity.

Scene granddaddies The Meteors check in with three numbers, appropriately kicking the compilation off with “Go Buddy Go.” Sneering, Bon Scott-flavored vocals? Check. Kinetic drums? Oh yes. Ripping guitar work? Indeed. They take Sam The Sham and the Pharoahs’ silly “Little Red Riding Hood” and make it palpably creepy. Frontman P. Paul Fenech’s “Daddy’s Hammer” is unsettling (like you’d imagine, the titular Daddy isn’t building shelves).

So many of the tracks are succinct. Guana Batz say all they need to on “Can’t Take The Pressure” in about two tidy, furious minutes. Their “King Rat,” with its hopped-up cowpunk guitars and countdown in French, is blistering.

Is it the sound of creepy laughter or weeping on Stage Frite’s “Island Of Lost Souls”? With horrorshow lyrics and driving bass propelling it along, it’s anyone’s guess. Stage Frite took the horror to heart, proclaiming on the deceptively sunny “Black Magic,” “I don’t care cause Satan’s here with me.”

The lead singer of Frenzy sounds uncannily like Adam Ant on the oddly charming “Robot Riot.” With electronic whooshes and surfy guitar, it’s a moment of giddiness that isn’t about monsters (but it is about robots, so there you go). “Cry Or Die,” also by Frenzy, features an incredibly tight guitar solo. They accomplish much in such a short song, creating atmosphere, a breakneck speed, and dramatic vocals.

“Curse Of The Coffin” from Nekromantix is jittery and lively with Creature Feature laughter and a killer chorus. The Sharks’ “Morphine Daze” is surprisingly upbeat and the lead vocalist has a great voice. Frantic Flintstones take on a song from sheet music from 1853. “Old Black Joe” works so much better than you’d imagine. Wild and driving, it’s quite brilliant.

For such a massive compilation, Rock! Wreck! & Rule! doesn’t have a bum track on it. It’s endlessly entertaining, with hysterical, hilarious lyrics. It’s delightfully sick and, often, just delightful.

Rock! Wreck! & Rule! was released by Cherry Red Records on April 20.