Hell’s Bent On Rockin’: A History Of Psychobilly
by Craig Brackenridge

The manic, mixed history of psychobilly

Being a genre that is a hybrid of so many styles (rockabilly, punk, garage, surf, glam, trash, neo-rockabilly… the list goes on and on), attempting to give a coherent overview of the psychobilly phenomena must have been daunting, but Craig Brackenridge nails it pretty well.

Hell’s Bent… is a little light on quotes, making for a slimmer book than you might expect, but it’s certainly a comprehensive account of the movement, from its birth in the early 80s, through the more barren early 90s, to the present day, when psychobilly is stronger than ever with newer acts such as Tiger Army and Horrorpops.

Impressively researched potted histories of all the main acts, from undisputed psycho kings The Meteors onward, are included along with the important labels, promoters and other scenesters, while Brackenridge’s easily digestible writing style makes this an informative and interesting read.

As the sections are only divided into chapter headings, an index might have been handy when looking up the band that only recorded one track for the 1989 Raucous Records compilation Psycho Tendencies before disappearing forever, but that’s just nitpicking. A must for flat-topped, tattooed nutters everywhere (by the way, it was Full Moon Freaks).

ISBN 9781901447804

Reviewed by Shane Baldwin
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