Living in metropolitan Los Angeles for many years, one can easily take for granted, or perhaps not even acknowledge, the many niceties and conveniences that the entertainment mecca affords. The uninitiated are usually wowed by celebrities, theaters, theme parks and other attractions, but for the natives, it’s the case of been there, done that. Alas, it’s just another day in paradise.
Yet it still hasn’t been just another day living in Los Angeles for the Horrorpops, even though the Danish act originally staked their claim four years ago, moving from Copenhagen to further their musical careers. And it’s that wide-eyed outlook on the City of Angels that’s given frontwoman Patricia Day the necessary inspiration to pen her band’s latest (and third) album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill.
The entire record is based around a film noir throwback, but as things typically go with the Horrorpops, there’s a little twist to the plot.
“We’re still amazed by the country, and especially this city,” Day says. “And coming from little cold Denmark, we kind of feel like we’re in a city of dames in distress, scruffy detectives and that the whole basic noir thing is still living in Los Angeles. It’s still a part of American culture. All females seem like they’re always in distress, and can’t do anything themselves. Just lifting a shopping bag is out of the question.”
Day, who easily lifts an upright bass in the Horrorpops, and bandmates Kim Nekroman (guitar) and Henrik Niedermeier (drums) spent a full month recording the album, which was finalized in April 2007 at their studio (aptly dubbed “Hell”). So why the delay in releasing this latest affair?
“We were hoping for a summer release, but the date that we got, ten of the biggest bands wanted that date too, and we were like, ‘We’ll drown, we wouldn’t survive that,’” she says. “So the label wanted to put it out in the fall, but we were like, ‘Ehh.’ We hate fall releases because that means you have to tour over the cold months. So we just saved it for earlier the next year.”
Like most Horrorpops material, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill’s an upbeat rockabilly-based album with darker overtones, though “Missfit” sports a strikingly familiar melody during its bridge, as the lyrics “my fist in the middle of your face” are sung to the chorus melody of Madness’ “Our House In The Middle Of The Street.”
“That was actually Niedermeier,” says Day. “Last year on tour he was having one of those days where he was just pissed off. I guess he had some huge, bad hangover, so he was walking up to complete strangers and just yelling that in their face. Of course, Nekroman and I just stood back and we’re like, ‘Holy shit, that’s funny.’ We knew we had to write a song around that. It took quite a few takes before we could use that take, because I think I was laughing too hard every time I had to do that.”
So, has Madness heard it? “Oh, I doubt it,” she says. “Do you think they’ll get mad? I hope they don’t.”
The song “Disco” nearly sounds like Day is singing about famed ‘80s L.A.-based hair rock icons Poison. But she’s quick to retort that such isn’t necessarily the case (she probably wouldn’t want two ‘80s hitmakers after her, anyways).
We love our ex-guitarist, but it is easier when it’s all done in Danish. You can grunt and people understand. The grunts in Danish sound different than the sounds in English!
“The song is not about Poison, but about them chicks today that sit there, and they’re all old school and they have the whole fuckin’ ugly ‘80s outfit,” she says. “I mean, it has to be the ugly shit from the ‘80s and not the cool stuff. And they’re sitting there going like, ‘yeah, this is the coolest band,’ with Poison or the Scorpions or whatever. I’m sitting there, tapping my fingers, going like, ‘yeah, you were two.’ It’s like, OK, if you were into metal in the ‘80s, Poison weren’t cool. If you were into New Wave, Depeche Mode were kind of not cool. It’s more about these youngsters that think they’re the shit than it is about Poison.”
The new album also marks the band’s return to its initial trio format, which Day says has made for an easier album-making experience in terms of communicating amongst each other. “We all speak English pretty OK, but being able to be in the practice room and speaking our main language, that alone frees up the creative process a lot,” she says. “Now, ‘relief’ sounds like a bad word because of course we love our ex-guitarist, but it is easier when it’s all done in Danish. You can grunt and people understand. The grunts in Danish sound different than the sounds in English!”
It’s also now put the entire band under one roof, as Day shares her Atwater Village house with both Nekroman and Niedermeier. “It’s our own little Danish community,” she says. “It’s like here’s the Viking Castle. There’s a lot of things going on in that house. We’ve been here four years now, and I don’t think any of us ever want to go back. OK, the weather like it is right now [Editor’s note: it was cloudy with light rain in L.A. during the interview], well, that’s how it is ten months of the year. It’s like, you can’t do your hair in this kind of weather! There are a lot of opportunities here. We’ve been around for 12 years, but nothing happened before we moved out here in 2003 or 2004 or whatever.”
Something else that didn’t happen before she moved to the States — all the attention she’s received being a rare female frontwoman in the largely male-dominated rockabilly scene. “I’ve never been asked that question before moving to the U.S., that my gender should be important in any way for what I do, or for how I see things,” she says. “It never has been. When I pick up instrument, I’m a person, I’m not a female. I cannot see why having tits should make a difference for playing.”
“As for singing, I never chose to be a vocalist in none of my bands, but I was the only one that ended up being able to do two things at once,” she adds with a laugh. “But that’s a female thing, I guess, ‘cause most men can’t do that!”
-Waleed Rashidi