Rebel Set

CD Cover Psychomania
Tonic Records

Review by Darren Kerr



45-second excerpt from "I've Created a Monster" (351 Kb .au file)


There's a totally ridiculous undead biker movie called Psychomania, so I expected this CD to be over-the-top undead biker rock for the soundtrack. What I got instead is a well-crafted album of Boomtown Rats meet Ray Davies in an alien frathouse-style catchy pop. The main attraction is Marc Godfrey's lyrical prowess. His words are vivid, clever and sarcastic. In "Blue," he sings of the final result of hard drug abuse. "I've Created a Monster," "Robot Bride 2-B," and "Robot Sex Monster" follow the Hammer Studios B-movie motif for which the band is known.

Musically, it's all simple four-chord rock and roll that starts to wear thin after a while, but the presence of Godfrey's voice and the sheer catchiness of the songs slap your hand away from the stop button. There is variety to be found with the slower tunes and in "The Rebel Set," a song with a good shuffle beat and what sounds to be that patented Gretsch guitar sound. They even delve a bit into the territory of the crooner: picture Mel Torme as Eric Van Zipper in Frankie and Annette go to Sturgis and you're there. Scat, baby, scat.


Artist Contact Info: #315, 525 Seymour St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6B 3H7




First published in Drop-D Magazine on February 14, 1997

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