Browsing Tag

Psychobilly

The Spikes Twisted Garage Indie Rock into a Sardonic Snarl with Guns for the Children

Posted on 12 July 2025

The Spikes let the scuzz slither and the rhythm salivate in Guns for the Children, a single that dropped with a visceral music video a year ago and hits just as hard today with its garagey nods to psychobilly in its Cramps-y reminiscences, tempered by an indie post-punk slick stylistic monochromatics and echoes of Jim Morrison.

If you’re still mourning the loss of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and The Jim Jones Revue, Guns for the Children has all of the sardonic snarls, salaciously serpentine rhythms, and devil-may-care antagonism to set you right. Guns for the Children proves that subversion is a far better weapon than preaching in the vein of Bono in the vain attempt of changing the world while raising your profile; Guns for the Children holds a mirror up to the societal rot that’s tearing its way through the fabric of our desiccated reality.

The man behind the menace, Iago Haussman, is no stranger to channelling unrest into visceral forms. A multidisciplinary artist born in Rome and now splitting time between Berlin and New York, Haussman crafts with a cinematic sensibility shaped by a childhood spent on film sets. Through The Spikes, he transposes that grit into his art-punk poetry and monochrome sonic theatre. As he prepares to release a full album in 2026, he’s already pulling the thread tighter with more singles planned for this summer.

Guns for the Children is now available on all major streaming platforms; watch the video on YouTube. 


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Utah County Swillers Pulled the Rug Out from Americana Conventions with ‘Somebody or Other’ and their Wry Brand of Psychobilly Barncore

Posted on 1 July 2025

There’s something deliriously sideways about the opening bars of Utah County Swillers’ Somebody or Other; a tune where any notion of sobriety is soon abandoned in favour of whisky-soaked irreverence and raucous, bare-knuckled affection for the American West’s most overlooked souls. This is alt-country with the needle stuck in a groove, psychobilly barncore that rattles the dust off nostalgia’s boots and kicks down the doors of genre convention with an arched brow and a sardonic wink.

Utah County Swillers have found the perfect petri dish for human fallibility: a Salt Lake City dive, neon flickering, dirt under every fingernail, the world outside indifferent. Their lyricism ambles between parable and punchline, tugging at existential anxieties with the sort of dark humour and home-grown grit that can only come from a band that has spent as much time outside the lines as in them. Somebody or Other is less a plea for immortality than a smirk in the face of anonymity, a playful outstretched hand to every last punk and loner craving a few immortal bars in someone else’s memory.

This track is a satirical round of drinks for anyone who’s ever nursed a small-town grudge, a flash of self-awareness and outlaw country pathos that’s as danceable as it is darkly charming. If you’ve ever wanted to hear Americana get lovingly torn to shreds and stitched back together with sweat, spit, and just a touch of melancholy poetry, look no further.

Somebody or Other is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and YouTube. 
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Knottie Boys are on unhallowed ground with their horror punk hit, Monster Man

Posted on 21 October 2024

The Knottie Boys came through just in time for Halloween with their horror punk LP, The Weeping of Los Alamos, featuring the ferocious sonic juggernaut, Monster Man.

With The Creepshow-esque vocals, odes to The Misfits’ iconically infectious sonic signature and ska-reminiscent brass for good measure, Knottie Boys haunted the middle ground between psychobilly and horror punk with a tumultuous anthem that sweeps you up in its adrenalised riptide of frenetic energy.

As the third album from the Long Island-hailing alt-punk powerhouse who borrow influences from all across the punk spectrum, The Weeping of Los Alamos is set to skyrocket The Knottie Boys to even greater heights. Their ability to ensure their influences never outshine their ingenuity is on full display in the 15-part installation of cultivated chaos.

The Stream Knottie Boys’ LP, The Weeping of Los Alamos in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gothenburg’s Feral Mind Gave Rock Fans Nowhere to Hide From Their Eponymous Debut LP

Posted on 18 June 2024

If you’ve ever wondered what the Misfits might sound like if they swapped their horror punk theatrics for mature, unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll, look no further than Feral Mind’s seminal release, State of Mind. The standout single from their eponymous debut album has been igniting the global rock scene with its raw power and hints of psychobilly, reminiscent of the Koffin Kats and The Coffin Caddies.

Founded in Gothenburg in 2023, Feral Mind comprises seasoned rockers who have honed their craft both in the studio and on live stages; their uniquely whiskey-soaked sound is grounded in rock ‘n’ roll grooves, with influences spanning from 70s hard rock to funk and prog. Yet, unlike your run-of-the-mill assimilators, Feral Mind is delivering the future of rock, surpassing the banality of pastiche while inviting you into the psyche of one of the most promising acts creeping their way up from the European underground

State of Mind is a powerhouse of rolling rhythms, technical riffs, and seductively rugged croons, which prove that Feral Mind knows exactly how to bring the rough with the smooth.

We can’t wait to hear what follows this flawless LP.

Stream the debut LP on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hotel Security reached the pinnacle of euphonic furore in their symphonic pseudo prog rock hit, Forget It

Posted on 25 September 2023

If Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster did an 8-ball of speed before falling into the studio, their sound still wouldn’t match the fervour in the latest single, Forget It, from New York City’s most volatile prodigal sons, Hotel Security, who have been trailblazing through the NYC alternative scene since 2020.

With the symphonic keys adding a histrionic edge to the tumultuously tight instrumentals that revolve around the dizzying guitar riffs that rip roar with Psychobilly-esque furore, Forget It would be an all-out attack on the senses if it weren’t for the melodic hooks infused through the catchy vocal melodies that give you a centre of gravity in the chaos of the pseudo-prog rock orchestration. Ironically, Forget It is as brutal as an MK-Ultra operation.

Forget It was officially released on September 15th; strap yourselves in and experience it for yourselves via Spotify. For more info on the self-professed band of music nerds, visit their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Barnyard Stompers – Punk Rock Girl: A Honkytonk-Punk Rock Antithesis of a Love Story

Posted on 13 January 2023
Barnyard Stompers

I never knew how much I needed a gritty Americana track with psychobilly tendencies about the incompatibility between honkytonk guys and punk rock girls until I heard Barnyard Stompers’ narratively enticing single Punk Rock Girl. If you thought that Nick Cave could weave a compelling set of lyrics, prepare for your idol to be sonically knocked down a peg or two by Barnyard Stompers with their quintessentially country tones and ability to reel you in hook, lyric and sinker.

With touches of desert psych to the rolling basslines in the intro that give way to the definitive twang of Americana guitars and the astute observations about the contrast of the two cultures, “he doesn’t have a clue why you want to burn shit down”, it’s impossible not to get immersed in the antithesis of a love story.

Towards the outro following the Gretschy psychobilly riffs that fade into distorted obscurity away from the solid rockin’ rhythms, there is a twist! The honkytonk man was once a punk rock boy; he liked the new wave, ska, hardcore, psychobilly, and oi but threw away his DMs because there’s nothing punk about punk rock anymore. I can wholly relate.

Punk Rock Girl will officially release on January 13th. Check it out via the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Post-Punk Meets Nashville Rock and Roll in The Rhythm Bullies’ Latest Snarling Triumph, Smoke Rings

Posted on 20 April 2022
The Rhythm Bullies

Just when I thought I was getting to the aurally jaded stage of being unable to drop my jaw at new sonic amalgamations, The Rhythm Bullies came along with their discordant cocktail of 80s post-punk & Nashville rock and roll in their latest single ‘Smoke Rings’.

The bluesy psychobilly-Esque heat meeting the chillier post-punk tones under the Gothically drawled vocals and blisters of surf rock proved to be a viscerally alchemic combination. That’s before you factor in the hedonistic nihilist lyrics, such as “the world is burning baby, so grab a cigarette”. Smoke Rings finds a generously subversive way of saying the world is burning, whether we want to see it or not, so you may as well get accustomed to the noxious air.

With riffed-out solos that make the Black Keys and Bauhaus simultaneously sound pedestrian, The Rhythm Bullies have an immense amount of snarling potential. We can’t wait see what they do with it.

You can check them out via Facebook, their official website and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dive into Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies’ fervently azure folk-rock single, Cool Water

Posted on 1 March 2022

I never anticipated encountering a band that appease my visceral-emotion-seeking soul quite as well as Tiger Army, Koffin Kats or the Brains. The Hamburg hailing Americana folk-rock outfit Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies surpassed all expectations with their latest single, Cool Water.

There’s plenty of reminiscence to Nick 13’s style in the gristly and shimmering Gretschy tones and in the chorus harmonies around the fervent verse vocals that effortlessly paint a landscape that you want to get lost in. Yet, Stan Silver and the Brave Puppies set themselves apart with the rock licks against the psychobilly-style chugging basslines, and the folky picturesque lyrical escapism.

Cool Water is the first song released from the incredibly promising outfit’s forthcoming album. We couldn’t be more stoked for it.

Cool Water is now available to stream on YouTube and Reverb Nation.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Chris Sunfield has the femme fatale fear in his latest single, Don’t Kill Me.

Posted on 31 August 2021

Don’t Kill Me is the latest single from Chris Sunfield, an artist quickly becoming renowned for his conceptual explorations of classic pop idioms to the tune of snaking, swampy blues-rock that isn’t afraid to go Baroque through symphonic styling.

His radio-ready psychobilly single is probably the most accurate femme fatale depiction I’ve ever heard; what Single White Female is to cinema, Don’t Kill Me is to the airwaves. Any fans of the Cramps, the Brains, Amigo the Devil, Nick Cave, or Mad Sin will find plenty to love about Sunfield.

Don’t Kill Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Paul Bidault – Who Do You Think You Are?: Dark Swinging Murder-Folk

Posted on 20 August 2021

If you cranked That Handsome Devil’s sex appeal up to 11, you’d be left with Paul Bidault’s latest swampy, swinging, dark-jazz folk track, Who Do You Think You Are? Which experiments with a more maleficent side of the sound that Tom Waits made iconic.

With swing band percussion rattling around trombones and consistently evolving guitars in the richly dark and eerie soundscape, Bidault’s whiskey-soaked murder-folk vocals that wouldn’t be out of place in the Psychobilly scene have the perfect atmosphere to fall into.

The Paris-born, Mexico-city based artist is one to watch for anyone that gets their kicks from stumbling into tracks that carry familiar themes while completely reinventing them through the artist’s vision.

Who Do You Think You Are? was officially released on August 20th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify or the artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast