From the ashes of their legendary Las Vegas outfit Yeller Bellies, Rob Bell and Jimmy Krah picked up guitar genius Jack Ball to complete their new outfit The Psyatics. Whereas Yeller Bellies were known more for their country/rockabilly ways, this new vehicle is an entirely different animal, taking on garage-rock from a punk, blues, and spazzed-out standpoint, and doing so in all sorts of unconventional ways.
The 15 tracks on their debut Oderint Dum Metuant (translated to “Let Them Hate So Long As They Fear”) show much diversity and energy from the trio, each song taking on different sounds and textures, and only rarely taking a break from intense, loud pummeling. The band come out of the gate swinging with the wailing garage rocker “Trouble,” an Oblivions cover (anyone remember that Chicago punk band?) and in between that and the closing punk-charged rager “Suzie Got A Stutter,” there’s a lot of noteworthy moments.
Bell’s voice is a powerful instrument of its own, performing vocal acrobatics time after time. “The Hanging Tree” finds him yelping like a mad dingo on the swampy rocker, while on “Dig It Up” he sounds like he escaped from a mental ward. Elsewhere things aren’t quite as wild; “Stole Your Girl” is a throwback to the ’60s and “The Powder Monkey” amazingly has a violin that doesn’t sound the least bit out of place. Elsewhere they get almost dance-able with a lively beat in “Right Amount Of Wrong,” which leads into as close as they’ll get to a ballad with “Evangaline.”
The total package for both the casual listener and the hardcore music fan, Oderint Dum Metuant delivers ferocious guitar riffs matched with random soundbites and harmonicas, making this an entertaining and musically intoxicating brand of blues-influenced garage rock. With interesting cover art and nice packaging to boot, this is worth seeking out for those who pursue music that falls far from mundane.
