December 10, 2005
The SeX Rays CD
Apocalipstick, the SF-based obnoxio sex camp trash purveyors who we covered back in a previous column, has re-"christened" (as if anything about them could ever be described in bliblical terms) themselves The SeX Rays. While key wordsmith and front woman/dominatrix Jackie O Nasstie has left the band, they are now bolstered by a trio of new sirens. Star Varga offers most of the new lead vocals, while Serena Toxicat (apparently an ex-Suicide Girl), and Barb Wire (ex Punk Rock Orchestra) add to the mix and fill in additional leads. It's obvious that the band is the vision of guitarist and singer KC/DC, and tho the band name and some of the players have changed, the core sound remains.
Hedwig comes to mind in terms of their theatrical campy trashy arrangements, but The Sex Rays are lacking any of the heartfelt innocence and uplift - it's all rather twisted and brooding and sinister, yet tongue in cheek at the same time. In fact none of the new lead singers are really hardly "rawk", but instead are obviously from theatrical/operatic backgrounds. This lends to a rather unique sound. The reworkings of previous Apocalipstick songs are better: "Lick" and "Whoop-Ti-Do!" are less maniacal without Jackie's vocals, but they come off as harder rocking more cohesive songs. "Can't Find My Boots" is a cool reworking of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walking" that speeds up punkly and then crashes and burns in a miasma of vocal strangulation. A powerful and entertaining band that deserves to be heard.
Given that Jackie O wrote most of the delicious lyrics to these songs, it will be interesting to hear what they come up with nex. In the meantime, contact them at The Sex Rays: POB 590144, SF, CA, 94159. Their website appears to be down (www.thesexrays.com).
Apocalipstick, the SF-based obnoxio sex camp trash purveyors who we covered back in a previous column, has re-"christened" (as if anything about them could ever be described in bliblical terms) themselves The SeX Rays. While key wordsmith and front woman/dominatrix Jackie O Nasstie has left the band, they are now bolstered by a trio of new sirens. Star Varga offers most of the new lead vocals, while Serena Toxicat (apparently an ex-Suicide Girl), and Barb Wire (ex Punk Rock Orchestra) add to the mix and fill in additional leads. It's obvious that the band is the vision of guitarist and singer KC/DC, and tho the band name and some of the players have changed, the core sound remains.
Hedwig comes to mind in terms of their theatrical campy trashy arrangements, but The Sex Rays are lacking any of the heartfelt innocence and uplift - it's all rather twisted and brooding and sinister, yet tongue in cheek at the same time. In fact none of the new lead singers are really hardly "rawk", but instead are obviously from theatrical/operatic backgrounds. This lends to a rather unique sound. The reworkings of previous Apocalipstick songs are better: "Lick" and "Whoop-Ti-Do!" are less maniacal without Jackie's vocals, but they come off as harder rocking more cohesive songs. "Can't Find My Boots" is a cool reworking of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walking" that speeds up punkly and then crashes and burns in a miasma of vocal strangulation. A powerful and entertaining band that deserves to be heard.
Given that Jackie O wrote most of the delicious lyrics to these songs, it will be interesting to hear what they come up with nex. In the meantime, contact them at The Sex Rays: POB 590144, SF, CA, 94159. Their website appears to be down (www.thesexrays.com).
posted by Henry @ 11:14 PM 
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