The name the ‘Mindfucks’ suggests to me a European act that is trying just a little bit too hard to be a psychobilly band. However, setting aside my prejudices, this turns out to be a pretty good album by a band hailing from the Netherlands. The album is out on Bad Billy Records.

Track 1 ‘The Butcher’ begins with a spooky riff, the sound of a knife sharpening and then the cries of a woman, we are then into a classic European sounding psychobilly number with growled vocals, there is some nice guitar work and changes of tempo. It’s an encouraging opening number.

Track 2 ‘The Deep Ones’, is another dark and fast number. It’s hard psycho.

Track 3 ‘Death Row’, sounds like Skitzo, which, in my book, is a good thing.

Track 4 ‘Herr Dokter’ is a sinister shuffle that takes it’s inspiration from ‘One Sharp Knife’, or by extension from the Sin King’s ‘The Surgeon’.

Track 5 Is ‘The Crazed’ it is rougher around the edges than The Meteors’ version, but it is quite a respectable take on the classic.

Track 6 ‘Voodoo Curse’ is a great up-tempo slice of pure psychobilly with a nice guitar solo to boot.

Track 7 ‘Zombie Killer’ continues in exactly the same fashion. 

Track 8 ‘The Last Sun’ begins with symphonic sounds, but then reverts to dirty, nasty psychobilly replete with samples pertaining to a horrific murder.

Track 9 ‘Fat Roll Boogie’ has elements of neo-rockabilly to it, it is a jolly and effective number.

Track 10 ‘Midnight Stalker’ tells the tale of a stalker, a good theme for a psychobilly song and it is executed very effectively.

Track 11 ‘Stand Your Ground’ starts with jungle drums that are alternated with a thrashy verse, it is a very well-controlled song.

Track 12 ‘Misunderstood’ is quite a nice take on The Animals’ classic.

Track 13 ‘Wreck-O-Shock’ is quite a raucous, good psycho number.

Track 14 ‘Ride Or Die’ is a fairly ordinary, rather plodding number. It is, in truth, a little bit of filler.

Track 15 ‘Friends With Benefits’ appears on first listen to be a live number, it is quite frantic but effective.

Track 16 ‘Mindfucks’ begins a little like the Meteors the Crazed before growing into a Skitzo number with quite a prominent double bass, it’s fast paced psycho before the slow passage before returning to double time and then another slow section and then a final double time. It is quite a well-constructed number.

Having been initially a little sceptical or this band, I really came to rather enjoy this album. It is fast and frantic, but is fundamentally pretty good psychobilly that ought to appeal to fans of The Meteors, Demented and Skitzo. It has earned my seal of approval!

Nick Kemp

Buy a copy of ‘Tales Of Love and Murder’ from Bad Billy Records