Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Los Angeles based exotica all-stars Voodoo Five have been pushing the boundaries of exotica and jazz since their inception, and taking their incredible sound to Alternative Tentacles Records was just the tip of the iceberg.
Following up their reworking of Dead Kennedys "Moon Over Marin", Voodoo Five returns to Alternative Tentacles with a single that should come as no surprise to followers of co-leader Skip Heller's Hollywood Film Noirchestra, his 10-piece ensemble whose faithful renderings of classic crimejazz (classic film noir, detective, and crime-drama scores from iconic composers like Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, and Johnny Mandel) brought that music to life.
Rather than go back to the noir well, Voodoo Five travels the dark streets of Russ Meyer's exploitation film music via a blistering version of "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (complete with infamous opening monologue) that features co-leader Lena Marie Cardinale snarling out a vocal that owes as much to Ari Upp as it does to exotica. All placed lovingly on a bed of sped-up boogaloo and topped with a guitar-vs-pedal steel guitar grudge match between Heller and pedalmaster John Mc Duffie. There will soon be a video, which will serve as a tribute both to Meyer and pussycat fatale Tura Satana, directed by Julia Marchese (whose doc Out Of Print is a must-see)!
For the flip, we go Beyond The Valley of the Dolls for a groovy Latin soul reworking of the Carrie Nations' “In The Long Run”, which features one of Lena's most beautiful vocals to date.
The sleeve features a rarely seen photo of Tura Satana, provided by her estate, who has blessed the project.
Whatever you think an exotica band should do next, Voodoo Five won't.
"We're totally the product of Yma Sumac and Robert Drasnin", says Skip, "but we're also raised on Rod Serling, Russ Meyer, sixties Latin boogaloo, and cheap fifties paperbacks, so you're getting a wider view than just tikis and volcanos."Available on wide release black vinyl and as a limited Artist edition on blue vinyl in our exclusive Patreon Store (or from the band themselves).
To find out how you can gain access to our Patreon Store for as little as $3 a month, head over to the Alternative Tentacles Patreon for more information!