Year: 2026
Label: Western Star Records
When I recently interviewed Western Star owner Alan Wilson for Finnish rockin’ magazine Big Beat about his new psychobilly project The Coal Dust Cowboys (review here), we talked about songwriting and influences. He mentioned that it’s scarcely surprising that when he writes psychobilly songs, they end up sounding a bit like The Sharks, his most legendary group. His influences are what they are, and his process is what it is. The man is, of course, correct.
Perhaps the same can be said for the bands he signs to his label. When Western Star puts out a psychobilly album, more likely than not its sound will hark back to the classic 80’s UK sound. That is, after all, the era of psychobilly Wilson not only actively helped shape, but also the the time that shaped him as a musician and songwriter. So if he’s got a predilection towards that kind of stuff, it’s only understandable.
Which leads us to The Kings Of Outer Space, a psychobilly band from Bristol, England. Their sound is definitely a throwback to that most iconic of psychobilly’s eras. One can’t award points for originality to these guys, as their sound will make anyone into late 80’s psychobilly feel at home from the very first note.
If I were to put forward but one reference, that’d be Frantic Flintstones, those drug-crazed muhsters of British psychobilly. Not only does The Kings Of Outer Space’s vocalist Giggsy have a voice that reminds me of the Boss Flintstone himself, Chuck Harvey, but at times, the Kings have that same kind of humorous touch to their music. Not in the weirdo sense Frantic Flintstones have on their, eh, more “conceptual” (or just plain fucked up) albums, but that same kind of twinkle in the eye. I realize this doesn’t make sense if you haven’t heard either band, but trust me on this one.
OK, so points for originality are out of the question. Although, I have to admit, the organ on Moon Buggy Baby and Watch Me Burn, and the accordion on Life’s Too Short aren’t your most typical psychobilly instruments, so maybe I backtrack a bit and give the guys a point or two for that. But – I digress! – what about quality?
As I established in my recent review of Dukes Of Tijuana’s newest album (here), originality isn’t all that matters. Especially in a genre like psychobilly, which has never prized originality and uniqueness of sound above everything else. Sometimes it’s enough to just offers some good rockin’.
And, I’m pleased to say, here The Kings Of Outer Space fare much, much better. I find myself repeating what I said about Dukes Of Tijuana, but: whilst The Things That Makes Us Strange doesn’t reach the level of a latter day classic, it’s got a fair share of fine, fun psychobilly tracks. And, for some reason I can’t put my finger on, where I had a hard time getting as excited about Dukes Of Tijuana as they would have deserved, I have none of that with The Kings Of Outer Space. It’s incredibly easy to enjoy this.
I guess in part it’s in the sheer joy of doing that the whole album exudes. More than many other albums, this sounds like it was fun to make. I guess, ultimately, that this is why I’m reminded of Frantic Flintstones: their albums, too, often sound like they were a hoot to make.
This CD release is actually a compilation of two 10″ vinyl releases, Last Elevator To Spaceville from 2022, and Stay Fresh, Cheese Bags!, which was recently released, both on Western Star. Thirteen of the CD’s fourteen tracks are from these two releases. I feel this is good to point out, because if you own both of them, there’s little reason to dish out money for this as well.
But that doesn’t detract from the fact that this is some very enjoyable old school UK psychobilly. It’s nothing you haven’t heard before, and it’s not the best thing since sliced toast, but for all fans of that old, golden age sound, this is pretty much a guaranteed hit. And that’s not a feat to belittle.
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