VOODOO DOLLS: Poison In Your Drink 1983-1986

Release year: 2023
Label: Crazy Love Records

1983. That’s some early, early history as far as psychobilly goes. The Meteors released their second album Wreckin’ Crew, Guana Batz their first 7″, The Sharks their classic debut album Phantom Rockers (reviewed here), and King Kurt were also on their first round around the moon with debut album Ooh Walla Walla. And it’s the year when Swedish Voodoo Dolls formed.

Back in those days, Sweden certainly wasn’t a hotbed for psychobilly activity. Heck, unlike Finland, even the rockabilly revival never became a massive youth movement. Over here, acts such as Teddy & The Tigers spearheaded a youth culture that briefly even crossed over to the mainstream, but in Sweden things were more quiet (but not exactly dead) on all ‘billy fronts. So Voodoo Skulls had a lonely time. No wonder they lasted only three years, calling it quits in 1986.

During this brief period, the Swedes managed to release one 7″ and two albums. Voodoo Dolls never managed to make much of a lasting impression on the scene as such, so their name isn’t among the oft-lauded primogenitors of the genre. Still, these releases must be considered interesting obscurities from the early days of psychobilly. Crazy Love Records’ new compilation album, which contains tracks from all releases as well as some stuff that remained unreleased back in the day, offers some interesting perspective on the early days of the psychobilly sound.

The Swedes’ sound was a combination of nascent psychobilly, garage rock and wild, crude rockabilly. A lot of the time it is reminiscent of early Batmobile – who would release their debut album in 1985, a year after Voodoo Dolls released their self-titled debut. This means the sound is primitive, wild, flailing, at times even clumsy but energetic and primal rockabilly… but little to no punk to be heard in this mix. At other times, such as on Kiss The Bone from the 1983 7″ Split Personality, it is obvious that Voodoo Dolls took a lot of inspiration from The Meteors. Switch the vocals for P. Paul Fenech’s trademark snarl, and this could have been a track off of aforementioned Wreckin’ Crew.

Most of the material are original compositions, but there are a few covers in here as well. Voodoo Dolls made a psychotic rockabilly rendition of the 1964 Gloria Jones classic Tainted Love, remade into a synthpop classic in 1981 by Soft Cell, remade into a rockabilly classic in 1983 by Dave Phillips & The Hot Rod Gang. The Swedes’ version was released in 1983, the same years as Phillips released his version; undoubtedly his version inspired the Swedes. The Meteors would cover Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising in 1985 – a year after Voodoo Dolls covered it. Coincidence or not, the arrangements are not too dissimilar. And then there’s Don Cole’s rather obscure Lie Detector Machine; friends of the Sex Pistols will notice this is where they lifted riffs for their take on Friggin’ In The Riggin’!

To be honest, I can understand why Voodoo Dolls never became the iconic act some of the other acts I’ve mentioned here became. Whilst there’s a lot to like in Voodoo Dolls’ primitive garage psycho-rockabilly, it’s not trailblazing and genre defining in the same way as The Meteors, The Sharks and Guana Batz were. And it doesn’t rise to the frenzied levels early Batmobile did. Voodoo Dolls’ music was solid rockin’, but it lacks that final oomph that would’ve served as inspiration to throngs of bands in the coming 40 years.

That notwithstanding, Poison In Your Drink 1983-1986 is an interesting release for psychobilly archaeologists and friends of the first wave. It’s an interesting peek into what was bubbling under, into those bands that helped create a scene even if later generations have largely forgotten about them. The liner notes contain a short bit by founding member and bass player L-P Anderson, helping to give a little context to the audio. And there is some very decent psycho rockin’ here as well, so it’s not just about the historical value.