Rough Edge: The Scared Stiffs CD Reviews

THE SCARED STIFFS

"The Last Horror Movie" (Poptown Records; 2008)

Loaded with titles like "Dirt Nappin'," "Dead Girls are Easy," and "Let's Put the F-U-N in Funeral," "The Last Horror Movie" is tongue-in-cheek lyrically and also somewhat musically as well. The songs are often built around faux pop sensibilities and then given a shot of macabre horror rock atmosphere that makes the gruesome lyrics even more amusing.

It's apparent that the band is having a lot of fun playing and recording their morbid melodies and that enjoyment easily transfers to the listener. "The Last Horror Movie" is a great CD to play around Halloween time and good for listening any other time of the year as well.

If "Autopsy Turvy" was reminiscent of the Ramones and the Misfits, then "The Last Horror Movie" probably comes closer to Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "Goes to Hell" era. But if you enjoyed the pop horror rock of The Scared Stiffs last album, you'll enjoy this one as well.

The CD also includes a surprisingly straight-forward cover of Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son" as well as the video for the title track.

For more information, check out http://www.myspace.com/thescaredstiffs.

"Autopsy Turvy" (Poptown Records; 2005)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

The cleverly entitled "Autopsy Turvy" is a collection of light punk tunes that are a cross between the pop sensibilities of the Ramones and the macabre lyrics of the Misfits.

Never as edgy or as brilliant as the Ramones or as dark as the Misfits, "Autopsy Turvy" is a CD full of more than adequate punk tunes buoyed by their often hysterical lyrics. I mean, how can you resist a song like "My Mother the Carnivore" and its lyric "My mother the carnivore; ate the girl who lived next door; nothing's left of the one I adored; not even the dress she wore." Pretty funny stuff.

Highlights include the aforementioned "My Mother the Carnivore," the 50s-tinged "Graveyard Girlfriend," the fuzzy-guitars of "My Hands, Your Throat" and "The Creature Stole My Surfboard," for obvious reasons.

Fans of bands like the Ramones and the Misfits will find something to their liking here, as will anyone who appreciates music with a macabre, yet humorous, slant.

For more information, check out http://www.poptownrecords.com or http://www.myspace.com/thescaredstiffs.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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