EVIL ELVIS – Undead Or Alive (2015)

This CD, Undead or Alive, is my first exposure to Evil Elvis.  I was aware of singer K.C. since the 90s, from his band Blackglama who were featured on Raw M.E.A.T Vol 1.  Unsure what to expect, I was delighted to find this album is both hard to describe, and excellent!  They call it psychobilly, and I get it.  It has elements of that familiar rockabilly sound, but there’s way more going on here.  It’s hard to distil down into words, but here we go.

Surprise #1:  Lush and vibrant backing vocals.  I expected something way more ragged, but these guys are all singing in complementary harmony.  Really well produced too.

Surprise #2:  Just how flat-out catchy each and every song is.

Surprise #3:  Singer K.C. has only gotten better in the three decades since I first heard him.

Perfect example, I love when he screams “GO!” on opener “The Dead Are Walking”.  This timeless ode to zombies has some nice theremin-like sounds, and a breakneck beat.  Even faster, “My Evil” has tasty organ over a shuffle beat.  If it had horns, it could have been the Bosstones.  K.C. is a commanding singer, throttling through several voices in just the opening verse alone.  Sometimes he’s like Elvis (obviously), but he seamlessly goes to a growl next, and then back again.  Then he’s in a Tom Waits rasp like on “Apocalypse”, one of the catchiest songs about zombies I’ve heard to date.  “Adrenaline pumping fear and lust, we’re hellbound to fight these zombie fucks!”  But the chorus!…top quality.  “Bodies piled to the sky, I want yours next to mine!”  Love it.

Each song has a slightly different direction, but all of them contain hooks galore, fast beats, and great singing from K.C.  Example:  “Backseat Love” is a duet with Sarah Beth for variety.  This album no shortage of variety, even within the confines of its psychobilly direction.  Each song has its own flavour, sometimes drawing from the wells of other genres, such as heavy metal, on bonus track “Sick of this Shit”.

Tremendously fun album, expertly executed for high voltage kicks.  Recommended.

4/5 stars