Reviews and articles

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Rumba 05/06 , The main Finnish Rockmusic paper, 4 points out 5.

SOUNDI 4/06 , Finnish Rockmusic paper from Tampere

Helsingin Sanomat, NYT -liite 24.9.2004. Arabilly???

Call of The Trash -review at SUE indierockpunkmetalzine, September 2004:

9/10 points! Not bad...

XXXXXXXXXXXX.

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Simsala Bimsala CD-single Review at Xnay:

Before the new album "Call of the trash" there is the single from SKREPPERS
"Simsala Bimsala" with this song and the second number "Jesus saved my
sexlife". There is an additional video on the CD, too.
The two songs are really well done. The first song is my favourite,a
beautiful rocking song with expressive keyboards and an infectuous refrain - a
really catchy tune. The singing reminds myself a little bit of Jello Biafra from the Dead
Kennedys. On the video there are two live songs, which show that
THE SKREPPERS are of course an entertaining band.
Fazit: "Simsala Bimsala" is a fine single, but the two songs are also on the
new album "Call of the Trash". So only the video is exclusive here,
it would be for fans and interested people of the band.
written by Thomas (Xnay)

A rough translation of the original review,

published at http://www.xnay.at/reviews/show.php?id=135

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V.A. - They Came From The North CD

Ich merkte es bei der Rezension des MAHARAJAHS-Albums an: Das Herz der europäischen Garage-Punk-Szene schlägt in Skandinavien, aus keiner anderen Region kommen derzeit so viele gute Bands. Wer's nicht glauben will, der sollte sich diesen Sampler besorgen, der 14 der interessantesten Bands zusammenfasst und zwar auch ein paar Lücken hat (Wo sind die DEFECTORS, wo MANDO DIAO?), aber ansonsten voll überzeugen kann. Mit dabei: SATANS, SKREPPERS, MAHARAJAHS, SWEATMASTER, FLAMING SIDEBURNS, BABY WOODROSE, VOLADORAS, MAGGOTS, STROLLERS, CHRONICS und noch ein paar. Das gefällt! (33:34)

(08/10)

Real Music

http://www.realmusic.de/index.php?inc=rezension&id=38747

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V/A - They Came From The North CD (Zorch)

This comp is a pretty solid document of today's Scandinavian garagerock scene, mostly 'pure' 60s fuzz style r'n'r and r&b/garagepunk since Zorch wanted to show what the scene has evolved into after the 80s garagerock reign of bands like Nomads and Stomachmouths. There's known bands like Sweatmaster, Baby Woodrose, Flaming Sideburns, The Maggots, The Chronics and The Strollers but also great tunes by bands I'm not that familiar with like Maharajahs, Voladoras, The Satans, Glendoras and The Skreppers (The Seeds meets Dead Kennedys!?). Lotsa other names could easily have been included on this CD, I mostly miss The Defectors, but that's Zorch Productions' choice and a minor complaint on my behalf since there's not a weak track on "They Came From The North". More unreleased and rare tunes could've been included though. Zorch, why not make this into a series of comps? In 20 years those could be the Scandinavian "Nuggets" albums.

4/5

LowCut Magazine

http://www.lowcut.dk/012_lc/reviews/index.asp

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V/A – They Came From The North, CD compilation
Zorch Productions, ZC-24, 2003, Sweden

Sweden was always well known for the best garage bands since the 60s and this CD compilation comes to prove that still is. There are 14 bands compiled in here, all in the garage genre from the 60s oriented to the more modern ones. The Satans, who have two great 45s out till now, open the album with a classic garage punker titled ‘She Ain’t Kind’. Then comes The Skreppers with the song ‘Hot Pants’ which is a fast punker not in strict 60s roots but really good. The singer sounds like Jello Biafra though! The Maharajas contribute with ‘Summer Nights’, another moody song in the lines of their latest album. Watch out also for their forthcoming album on Low Impact Records. Sweatmaster and Flaming Sideburns are on the punkier side of the garage while The Chronics offer their best song out of their latest LP release titled ‘Make You Move’, which is a great soulful punker. A real nice surprise comes from The Glendoras, a brand new Swedish garage punk band, that play ‘Bloodsucker’: snotty vocals, farfisa, fuzz ala early Stomachmouths! Wylde!!! Also The Giljoteens, The Roadrunners and The Nocounts with great unreleased stuff. Baby Woodrose may not be from Sweden but they are included in here with a nice cover of ‘My Flash On You’. The Voladoras contribute with ‘Geetar Slut’ and The Maggots with another smasher titled ‘It Is Time’. As a reminder and tribute to one of the greatest ever Swedish garage bands comes a live recording of ‘Captain Of My Ship’ by The Strollers. I believe that this is the best compilation album that came out in 2003 although only on CD and not vinyl too…

Thee Cave

http://www.geocities.com/theecave/REVIEWS/25/Reviews20045.htm

The _______________________________________________________

Skreppers – Hedonist Hellcats
Low Impact Recordings
2002
Bei „Hedonist Hellcats“ handelt es sich trotz längerer Bandgeschichte erst um das zweite Album der fünf Finnen – und bei diesem haben auch Mitglieder von HIM mitgewirkt; so hat zum Beispiel HIM-Sänger Ville Valo den Text zu „Soon Someone Is Crying“ verfasst.
Musikalisch hat die Band mit HIM (zum Glück) eigentlich nichts gemeinsam. The Skreppers machen eine Mischung aus Garagenrock, Rock ’n’ Roll und Psychobilly – und das recht gut. Mal ist das Ganze eher rockend (wie beim ersten Stück „Dog, I Wanna Be Your Bone“) und gelegentlich gibt es auch ruhigere, melancholischere Lieder zu hören (unter anderem „No Love“). Außerdem sind ein paar der Songs wirklich ganz eingängig geworden. Vor allem „Translucentsexxxexpress“ und „Let Me In“ sind schöne kleine Ohrwürmer, was (besonders bei letzterem) an der Orgel liegt.
Fazit: Ganz gute Platte mit mal eher rockigeren und manchmal auch ruhigeren Stücken. Ein paar der Lieder gehen auch recht schnell ins Ohr.
Thomas

A rough translation of the original review,

published at

http://www.xnay.at/reviews/show.php?id=139

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The Skreppers - Hedonist Hellcats

In one of the icy finnish forests, under a rock overgrown with moss between winding worms and maggots, a record company found the sound of The Skreppers. All Finns are insane, that's what everyone in Europe knows. The Skreppers prove that with this lowlife-CD full of sixties garage and psychobilly trash, which is supplementary supported by one of our favourite instruments, such a fantastic vox-organ, one more time.
Bassplayer Jack The Black, drummer Salvador Salsa, singer Special K., guitarplayer Reinaldo and organist K.Sumatra scratch the fattiest and most rancid bits from the mouldy cellars of Rock'n'Roll and give them, concerning this kind of music, the only right treatment, but it stays mouldy and fatty.
We like that mush!
Don't clean your hands before meal, but afterwards!

Highlife 2/2003 (NETHERLAND)

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RIFRAF 12/2002 (NETHERLAND)

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Rumba (Finnish Rock tabloid) 11.10.2002 (Finland)

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The Skreppers: Hedonist Hellcats

Toisen levyn ovat kuuloelimiemme iloksi lykänneet nämäkin Helsingin show-miehet,joiden bändillä on täysin lausuntakelvoton nimi.
Musiikissa ei sen sijaan ole mitään kelvotonta. Skreppersien musiikki on kummallista, kahjoa, rajoja rikkovaa, outoa - mutta ennen kaikkea - kiinnostavaa. Montako sellaista levyä Te siellä lehden toisella puolella olette tänä vuonna kuulleet?
Periaatteessa Skreppers on psychobillyä, mutta käytännössä ei. Skreppers on grunge-garage-kahjo -rockia, jossa päällimmäisenä ulvovat koko ajan herra K. Sumatran (taas aivan pälli taiteilijanimi!) Doors-urut. Kyllä, luitte aivan oikein, Doors-urut! Kuka sellaisia viitsisi/uskaltaisi nykyisin levylleen pistää? Skreppers uskaltaa ja se kannattaa.
Hedonist Hellcats on eräs syksyn mielenkiintoisimmista levyistä. Sen kolmeminuuttiset tykitykset luovat uskoa siihen, että nykyisinkin on mahdollista julkaista mielenkiintoista musiikkia, jos ei ainoastaan tyydy kopiomaan Radio Novan ohjelmakaaviota biisilistakseen.
Skreppers lämmitteli taannoin HIM:iä ja uusi kiertue on luvassa syksyksi. Keikalla skrepaajat kannattaa ehdottomasti katsastaa, joten sinne siis.
Hannu J. Aaltonen, Satakunnan Kansa

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Örebro City paper May/2003 (Sweden)

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Over Dose Porwoo Kaupunkilehti 2/2003 (Finland)

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Iltalehti 12.10.2002 (Finland)

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The SKREPPERS: Hedonist Hellcats: LP/CD

Review in OX-Fanzine #49 (Germany) December 2002

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SKREPPERS, THE: Hedonist Hellcats: CD

Low Impact out of Sweden has picked up a bunch of groovie ghoulie loving
sick bastards from Finland. It's an interesting mix of 60's garage that
would be played as a soundtrack to a low budget horror movie mixed with an
early Cramps sound that meshes with a psychobilly vibe. Raw and fun energy
that makes you want to go-go dance like a Spastic monkey. The keyboards are
the clincher for this release. The dated sound adds to the charm of the
party. Heard that people either loves this band or hates them. I'm in the
love them mode!

-Donofthedead

Razorcake

http://razorcake.com/
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The Skreppers - Hedonist Hellcats
Label: Low Impact Records - Reviewed Format: CD

I was kind of suprised when I heard this cd for the first time, for several reasons. First reason was because it wasn't what I expected it to be, second reason because I thought the music was kind of "weird" when I heard the album for the first time and the third reason was because I liked it. I expected a psychobilly record (mainly because of the description in the biography and because of the cd title) but instead I got a blend of 60's garage trash, punkrock and psychobilly (Meteors style) with a organ. This style is really common in Scandanavia, and guess where they're from? Indeed. So I started to listen to this album more and more, and the more I listened to it, the more I began to like it. If you aren't very common with this style of music it might has to grow on you, I know it did on me. 14 Songs is what you get, such as Dog I Wanna Be Your Bone, Perfection Is Suspicious, TV Ass, She's Not Mine, Swine Fever, Udai Rock and All Night Wrong. Nice cd for fans of (early) Misfits, The Damned, Meteors, Hellacopters and bands like that. Released on the (unknown to me) Low Impact labe.

Street Solders

http://streetsoldiers.fateback.com/Reviews_December2002.htm

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THE SKREPPERS
Hedonist hellcats
(Low Impact)

(3 of 5)

Först och främst måste jag berömma Örebrobolaget Low Impact för sin fina fingertoppskänsla när det gäller att hitta udda och intressanta band. Finska The Skreppers passar perfekt i bandstallet med sin psychobillykryddade blandning av garage och punk från 60- och 70-talet. Den sköna orgeln låter lite The Doors och sångaren Special K (bästa artistnamnet hittills!) låter som en finsk släkting till Jello Biafra. Nu hoppas jag bara att de dyker upp på en Örebroscen inom en snar framtid.
ANDERS JAKOBSON
(2002-09-11)

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The Skreppers
"Hedonist Hellcats"
CD/2002
Low Impact Recordings/MNW Sex och sprit
Jag vet inte varför jag tänker på The Cramps när jag hör The Skreppers. Jag har ju aldrig lyssnat på The Cramps. Jag har bara en vag bild av hur de kanske låter. Min fantasibild stämmer ganska väl överens med vad jag hör i denna finska kvintetts musik.
Sleaze, garage, sex, rockabilly och kitsch hopknådat till en stökig sörja. Det är ett satans driv. Ett galet liv.
Jag dristar mig till ännu en liknelse. B52’s sång och dårskap mixad med The Strollers garagenerv och framför allt Henrik Winds orgel. Då landar du nära The Skreppers. För det är orgeln som står i centrum även om gitarr, trummor, bas och sång slåss om uppmärksamheten.
Framför mig ser jag blankt rött läder och gummi när jag hör musiken som strömmar ur högtalarna. Bilder ur filmer hämtade i Klubb Super 8:s bibliotek viner också runt i hjärnan. Kasst men kul.
Det svänger riktigt bra. Och det är en sorts rock’n’roll som inte bara är ett destillat av de senaste två årens trender. The Skreppers går sin egen väg.
Nu sätter sig tyvärr inte särskilt många av låtarna på hjärnan. Jag gillar det när jag hör det, men det stannar inte kvar. Kanske är det heller inte meningen. Jag anar att man helst vill agera soundtrack till spritorgier. Och inte mig emot. Jag skulle gärna blanda delar av "Hedonist Hellcats" i mixen vid nästa tillfälle.
Fast helst skulle jag nog vilja uppleva dem en något för blöt kväll på en något för liten klubb. Jag har en känsla av att det är då de kommer bäst till sin rätt.
Patrik Hamberg

http://www.dagensskiva.com/index.asp?datum=2002-8-30

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The Columbia Daily Spectator is the daily newspaper of Columbia University

In Today's Arts & Entertainment

Published on October 01, 2002

A Scandanavian Success Story

By Shannon Smith

and the terrifying death metal of Turbonegro. Most Danish bands wear the influence of Britpop like a Travis pin, but two groups challenging that trend are The Violet Hour, an offbeat mixture of orchestral pop and No Depression, and the unfortunately named Flying Virgins, a quintet devoted to an effectively moody, if not quite original, strand of shoegazer rock.

Yet Finland, Scandinavia's bastard child, is the area's real musical hotbed, with its blackly humorous, emotionally charged garage rock. One might inquire, "What grants Finland a higher punk ranking than Sweden, a country whose music seems to have proven itself multiple times?" The answer is simple: first, history, second, attitude. Reacting to a century of Russian domination, the Finns sided with Germany during WWII, only to return to the Soviets' protection as their allies' defeat became inevitable. The angered Germans retaliated with a scorch-and-burn policy echoing that of Napoleon, backtracking through Lapland with the intention of revenging the country to revenge the Finns' betrayal. Contrast that bit of history with, say, Sweden's pseudoposition of "neutrality" during WWII or Denmark's barely begrudging acceptance of German rule. Which is more punk-rock, ambiguous degrees of cooperation with unofficial allies or a form of destruction and national rebirth akin to that prophesied by Richard Hell via Rimbaud?

Furthermore, unlike the Swedes and Danes, who dwell in perfect comfort with their high standard of living, the Finnish youth exhibit a resigned unrest parallel to what one imagines the Ramones once suffered. The clothes and attitude of the country exude the original theory behind punk, one that is tied up in economical standards ‡ la Britain, not the posturing of the current United States scene. When the Finns translate the music of the MC5, Stooges, and Nugget-era bands, they exhibit none of the ironic poses of the Mooney Suzuki or of today's average punk fan, with his snotty attitudes of musical superiority. Instead, what comes across is an unabashed love of and identification with the pure sounds and bare attitudes of punk and its predecessors, a culture appropriated and translated with reverence rather than mimicked over and over again in order to produce a definition of "cool" and an arrogant form of self-assurance. Helsinki is New York stripped of its pretensions: skyscrapers are replaced with St. Petersburg-esque block buildings of muddied colors, and the combined energy of downtown and Brooklyn compressed into two connected rock venues, Tavastia and Semifinal.

Emerging from these hole-in-the-wall size clubs, or even smaller ones in even smaller cites, are a number of the most energetic punk/pre-punk bands in ages. I'll highlight four of them: the Hypnomen, the Skreppers, The Flaming Sideburns, and Thee Ultra Bimboos.

The Hypnomen, a Link Wray-influenced quartet, indulge in garage-influenced instrumental rock, a sort of ? and the Mysterians without vocals and one of Finland's most popular genres. The title of their theme song, "Fuzz and Fight," defines the band better than I can, except perhaps to mention that the band is dedicated to reviving the Watusi as they rush at guitar- and keyboard- bashing levels through their intense live shows.

The Skreppers are equally indebted to the Sonics and Satan, decorating themselves in black leather as their onstage backdrop flames amid artwork resembling, well, Satan. A distorted surf-hillbilly sound creeps into their otherwise garage-ragged work.

Finland's most successful acts, Thee Ultra Bimboos and The Flaming Sideburns, both display an endearing affinity for Elvis. Thee Ultra Bimboos' last CD, Four Fans Can't Be Wrong, pictures the feminine quartet sporting The King's white sparkle suit, pompadour, and shades. Their music exhibits the tongue-in-cheek bounciness one imagines might have arisen if Phil Spector had produced Sleater-Kinney instead of the Ramones on End of the Century. Cartoons and self-effacing feminist posturing adorn the CD booklet. The girls have been together since 1994, building fan bases across Europe. Yet Thee Ultra Bimboos continue to pay homage to their native Helsinki, frequently DJing dance parties at Tavastia.

Stupido Records, Finland's premier label, handles distribution for the Skreppers and Thee Ultra Bimboos, and if one desires a broader picture of the Finnish rock scene than my notes, their website (www.stupido.fi) is a good place to start.

Jetset Records hopes to win Hives-caliber stateside popularity for the Flaming Sideburns later this month when it releases a reworked version of the band's European release Hallelujah Rock ën' Roll under the more ambitious title The Flaming Sideburns Save Rock ën' Roll. The quintet expands on the music of MC5, subtracting the jazz influence and the polemics and highlighting the feedback. Appropriate for a group with their illogical name, The Flaming Sideburns insert themselves wittily into mythology, floating a conflagrant Elvis head around their website between claims that they toured South America for thirty years and once opened for Little Richard. If the Sideburns were to battle the Strokes, the New Yorkers' icy demeanor would melt into their beat-up Cons, eradicated by the raw energy that only men living in a country smothered in darkness for multiple months of the year can repress until it is ultimately released through the music. Granted, The Flaming Sideburns and their counterparts won't actually save rock (they're not even kidding themselves about that), but they can at least provide a fresh alternative to America's circular obsession with restrained recycling and desiccated posturing.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com

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L'ultima uscita 2002 della Low Impact (al momento in cui scrivo)

é Hedonist Hellcats, secondo album dei finlandesi The Skreppers

(il primo.. Splish, Splash! Every Night é del 1999),gruppo in azione in Helsinki dal declinare degli anni '80.
La botta di vita é arrivata comunque per loro nel '95 con l'ingresso nella band del chitarrista Reinaldo, che ha definito bene il loro 'tiro' ispirativo ed espressivo.
La prima cosa che colpisce degli Skreppers é il loro aspetto estetico: make-up pesante glitter-style, giubbotti di pelle, espressioni vampiresche e decadenti,
uno strano ed inquietante mélange che mi ha ricordato gruppi del passato come Bauhaus, Doctor Of Madness...
La musica contenuta in Hedonist Hellcats invece é molto diversa da quella dei gruppi succitati..punk..garage..psychobilly, uno stuzzicante e sulfureo crossover caratterizzato soprattutto dallo spiritato lead vocalist Special K, molto vicino a volte allo psicotico lupo mannaro Lux Interior, dalle luminescenti tastiere di K.Sumatra e dalla tagliente chitarra di Reinaldo. Brani brevi ed anfetaminici, dall'approccio vizioso-glam e decadente, ricchi di riffs
memorabili: Dog- I Wanna Be Your Bone, No Love, Translucentsexxxexpress, Slow Dance
don't turn me on, ma anche la lenta e quasi mistica Soon Someone is crying!
Se dovessi sintetizzare generosamente il sound degli Skreppers direi: Stranglers e Cramps shakerati a dovere..!
Un'ennesima variabile intrigante e perversa di questo rock scandinavo che non finisce mai di stupirci, anche per il costante ostentato attaccamento alle radici,
ai gruppi più oltraggiosi inglesi ed americani dei '70 ed '80 che hanno scritto la storia del rock & roll.

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The Skreppers & Black Salem
Tavastia, Helsinki, 07.09.2002
Sari

Huhu, jonka mukaan HIM heittäisi yllätyskeikan The Skreppersin lämmittelijänä Tavastialla, kiersi kuumana internetin keskusteluryhmissä perjantaina. Keikkatietojen mukaan punk-a-billybändi The Skreppersiä lämmittelisi mystinen Black Salem, ja koska HIM on aiemminkin testannut uusia biisejä esiiintymällä salanimellä, lauantaina Tavastialle kerääntyi paljon uteliaita tarkistamaan, pitäisikö huhu paikkansa. Se piti: HIM soitti yleisölle kuusi uutta, ennenkuulematonta biisiä.
……………
Illan pääesiintyjä The Skreppers ei jäänyt epäilyksistäni huolimatta lämmittelijänsä varjoon. Bändi pyrki selvästi viha-rakkaus -suhteeseen yleisönsä kanssa. The Skreppers soitti nimitäin punkahtavaa rockabillyä, mutta bändin miessolisti muistutti Elviksen sijaan ennemminkin Tarja Turusta pcv- pukuineen ja korkeine korkoineen. Kuulijan huumorintaju oli siis koetuksella.
The Skreppersiä ei kuitenkaan kannata pitää pelkkänä vitsinä. Bändillä on hyviä biisejä ja lavakarismaa roppakaupalla. Tavastian yleisö, jota oli paljon paikalla vielä HIM:n jälkeenkin, rokkasi innoissaan lanteet pyörien ja leveät hymyt kasvoillaan. The Skreppers näytti ehkä törkeältä, mutta kuulosti kerrassaan loistavalta.
Arvosana 4/5
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