It’s always nice to see new faces on our cozy little stage. And today we will get acquainted with the Teutonic trio, which simply and tastefully prepares billy skit of medium strength, washing it all down with a national drink. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Billy & the Sideburnzz!
For the first time, the band gathered in the spring of 2021 as part of a classic rockabilly trio: guitar vocalist Kevin Laske, drummer Frankie Schoen (meaning “Handsome Frankie”) and fierce double bassist Andreas Muller. The goal of these respected burghers was to create original material at the junction of neo-rockabilly and saiki, with a strong bias towards the former. Because the guys literally sing the praises of foamy drinks, and it’s not so convenient to drink them under the hood. At the same time, it doesn’t reach caricature nonsense. Everything is very decent: three middle-aged friends decided to play their favorite music while drinking beer.
The simple and friendly atmosphere that the group postulates on its resources, in particular, in the video diary on the official website, does not prevent doing everything in German efficiently and meticulously. The first mini-album appeared a year later.
Rockabilly Man EP (2022)
It’s a great four-track debut, concise and modern. Yes, it is modern, without experimenting with retro sound and recording with just one microphone. It’s not that I don’t love all this time travel, but it’s something completely different from a simple and high-quality modern recording. The album was recorded on Keil Records, which has long been familiar to us from the Dave Phillips single and Stefan Griebel’s Christmas EP.
At the same time, the album had an absolutely amazing vinyl edition complete with a CD with extras. materials. That’s really retro: a CD with videos! Maybe we all know too little about real life in central Europe and they still have companies not only in old car radios and audiophile decks? The question is rhetorical, especially since we have a regular digital version.
Rockabilly Man is an assertive “stomp” song, which is the best way to unwind while sitting at the bar. This is the case when the song is not so wild that you can’t sit still, but lively enough not to leave you indifferent. In general, this is a common characteristic for the entire record.
The song is accompanied by a very detailed music video, which highlights one of the band’s unobvious features: Billy & the Sideburnzz is a very local project that is not going to take over the whole world. Their native land in the north of Germany is quite enough for the children.
Big Blue Eyes is a soulful cantaloupe lovesong, in the best traditions. Brushes on the working drum, chicken bites on the guitar – everything we like.
Against her background, Give Me a Call sounds shockingly powerful. The combination of a double bass and a vicious riff does the trick. These are the feelings that arise when you can’t reach your loved ones. And there’s also a very cool fake code. I can see how you can have fun with her on stage. Besides, I really liked the video for this song: it’s so harsh, with these abandoned black and white hangars.
But the most interesting song from this fantastic four is Tease Me. This catlike, stealthy, uplifting track warms up, creates excellent intrigue, sounds very original and is perfectly memorable. I especially like the sound of the rhythm section: everything is so warm, wooden and juicy.
Big Rat Rocket (2025)
And this year, a more complete studio album with as many as seven tracks. The sound seemed to be softer, but just a little bit. Perhaps it’s the first two tracks, which are much softer than the opener from the previous record. There’s an age-old story about the difficulty of keeping a stable team in small teams. There are already two double bass players on the album, and it’s hard to say which one is the main one. So some eclecticism is understandable.
So, Electric Lover, despite the fiercely funny name, with the spirit of the seventies is essentially a country song. By God, it’s like it’s a cover. Well, or it was composed in a different style. Although it sounds pretty good on the whole.
Moonshine is a typical intentionally primitive drunken song, to which the most insane thing is to dance some kind of dance of little ducklings. Slow, relaxed fun. However, in the video for this song, everything is a little more lyrical. Well, what’s fun for a Russian is a broken heart for a German.
And now, finally, a rockabilly action movie! The title song of Big Rat Rocket sounds cheerful, but somehow too “rounded”. Not enough barbs. Compared to Rockabilly Man, it feels like you’ve had one extra pint and it’s frankly hard to move.
The same slowness and roundness especially gets in the way in Rackin’ Kate, the band’s first near–hardcore track. Well, there’s plenty of guitar barb here.
But in Close to You, all this slowness goes to the checkout. The Teutons have managed to catch up with romantic excitement again. Like in Tease Me, but a little more monotonous and straightforward.
Zombie Woman is another saiko flirtation. It’s interesting how very soft vocals fit into traditional zombie psych songs. The most cozy nightmare on our street, no other way!
It also continues in the instrumental cover of Monster Walk. In some ways, all this reminds me of the spirit of Messer Chups. It’s like a monster goes to spa treatments, naturally, under beer. It’s so soft and effortless.
The final impressions of the full-length album (if seven tracks can be considered full-length) are mixed. I have a slight note of disappointment, because, as always, I wanted something fun and angry, but here everything is cozy, like meeting old friends in a country holiday home. It’s like the beer of the venerable pivosaurs is now alcohol-free, for medical reasons.
On the other hand, we have enough crazy savages. But there are not so many musicians who convey this feeling of prosperous provincial slowness, while maintaining high-quality material. And these guys obviously won’t be superfluous.
And so, we have a new face on the scene that we will keep a close eye on. I personally hope that they will become a little angrier again, like on the first record. And I would like to ask you to leave your opinion about the musicians under this publication: do we need such pivosaurs?
