The Horrorpops are highly influenced by great bands such as guitarist Kim Nekroman’s project Nekromantix, The Misfits, Blondie, Siouixie and the Banshees, numerous indie-punk bands, and naturally, as a hardcore psychobilly band, a little twist of classical horror movies. For example, track number nine, “Walk Like A Zombie” (my personal favorite), is a love ballad based on a creepy Addam’s Family type of love, in which a young girl is starry-eyed and infatuated by her ominous lover.
Bring It On! follows their debut album Hell Yeah with a familiar sound, but has plenty more upbeat jams to keep you swinging the way the cool kids did it back in the movies Grease and Cry Baby. This album, however, is a lot less political than the previous one. Perhaps because of their love for music in itself, versus the common punk scene’s lust for political tendencies. As a psychobilly band (a type of punk music that is mixed with a little bit of classic 50’s riffs and jazzy dance sounds), the punk antics are well delivered through other strategies than the usual strong opinionated lyrics that are normally heard in a typical punk song. Instead, topics covered consist of non conformity, break-ups, hook-ups, and a few other things on this album (and wider variety on Hell Yeah).
From the very beginning, you are captivated in the psychobilly moment, and track number one (“Freaks in Uniforms”) leaves you thirsting for more. This anathematic tune encourages listeners to not give in to what society (more particularly producers in the music industry) wants you to be, but to be yourself more for you, and to forget what anyone else thinks.
You may have heard of The Horrorpops before, since they are a part of music entrepreneur Tim Armstrong’s (Rancid/ Operation Ivy) own record label, Hellcat Records. The band rides alongside some other well known greats such as The Distillers, Dropkick Murphys, Tiger Army, Rancid, and Nek Romantix, to name a few. The Horrorpops are not the most recent band to sign onto Hellcat Records, but they are arguably the most successful up-and-comers. With the combination of guitarists Kim Nekroman and Geoff Kresge, drummer Neidermeier, and, of course, singer/ bassist Day (and the choreography of the two go-go dancers, Kamilla Vanilla and Naomi), The Horrorpops do exactly as their band name says- they send chills down your spine, all the while making you want to dance to a pop tune of some sort. This album is definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re looking for something different to feel good and rock out to.
