The Hillbilly Moon Explosion / The Exchange / Bristol

A trip down to old Bristol Town on a rainy day, for a show I was not going to miss , as Anglo-Swiss rockabilly legends The Hillbilly Moon Explosion rolled into town to play at The Exchange. I’ve long been a fan of psychobilly (think bands like The Meteors) and as a result, crossed over to enjoy modern rockabilly artists such as Red Hot Riot.

There are a number of artists that cross over between the two, and are loved by fans of both genres, such as The Reverand Horton Heat, and The Hillbilly Moon Explosion. They’re a band I’ve listened to for a long time and earlier this year we reviewed their latest album “Back in Time” (check out our review HERE.)

But first up on stage we had something new, a band I’d not heard of before and The SinicTones. The Bristol based trio play what they call Psycho Surf Noir, and I have to say…. It was brilliant! Characterised by frantic surf drums with classic spy guitar riffs based on influences such as Film Noir, Femme Fetales and Kink vocal themes.

Despite a new bass player in only his fifth show with the bad, they sounded tight dominated by the wonderful fuzz-riffed guitar with ear bashing bass lines. The songs have catchy choruses.

Visually they are a blast too with singer and bass player both in skirts wild make up. The singer has a blue psycho hairdo and ‘Joker’ like face paint. With a great style of engaging crowd interaction they served up a seductive performance.

And musically the songs were fantastic, with a great old school rock beat. As the band say themselves on their website “This aint no cheesy west coast summertime California groove...It's cheesy chips on the pier at Weston Super-Mare in December...”

I loved it, and it’s a psychobilly band I can’t wait to see again. It's surf, but not as you know it !

It doesn’t take long for the stage to be reset ready for tonight’s headliners. The Hillbilly Moon Explosion are Oliver Baroni (vocals/upright bass), Emanuela Hutter (vocals/rhythm guitar), Duncan James (lead guitar/vocals) and Sylvain Petite (drums).

Formed back in 1998 as part of the Zürich rockabilly scene by founding members native English and Swiss citizen Oliver and Italian-Swiss singer Emanuela. The band have gone through a few line up changes and in 2006 after the release of “All Grown Up” Duncan James joined, replacing Patrick Gese on guitar finally Frenchman Sylvain Petite later took over drums.

They have released eleven studio albums including the outstanding “Buy Beg or Steal” released in (2011) and their most recent release, 2024’s “Back in Time”. Perhaps the most recognisable, was the release of “The Sparky Sessions” in 2019. A collaboration with Mark ‘Sparky’ Philips, the singer from legendary Psychobilly band Demented Are Go. With his trademark rough and gravelly vocals, the juxtaposition alongside the sweet tones from Emanuela was a big hit, notably on tracks such as Queen of Hearts, Jackson and the tragic love song that is My Love for Evermore.

The Exchange was packed with a great mix, rockers, psychobilly fans (loving the Ziphead and Demented Are Go t-shirts !) and folks just out for a drink and good music. The set starts off with back to back tracks from the new album “Back in Time) starting with Something Late At Night and I Live in My Head, both of which are strong additions to the live set. Their fresh take on rockabilly with a continental flair is contagious and the packed house is soon singing along and dancing. Oliver is a livewire on the standing bass, chucking it round as much as he could in the limited space, as Emanuela oozes style and panache, giving the songs a sultry style.

Highlights of the set, include a brilliant upbeat version of Beg Buy or Steel with its catchy song-along chorus that had us all shouting along and the brilliant Queen of Hearts a stunning track about a relationship with a women that will never be yours alone, which highlights Emanuela’s sultry vocal style perfectly. (check out the tracks video below)

Olivers vocals take over for Knocked Down a nice slowed down moment, where Emanuela provides backing vocals that mix in perfectly. It’s a wonderful track. The whole performance is effortless, a foursome totally in tune with each other and complimenting each others elements perfectly. Vocals switching back and worth between Oliver and Emanuela, and Duncan delivering some silky smooth guitars riffs throughout.

As the set draws to a close, we end on three absolute bangers. First up is the brilliant My Love for Evermore a tragic love story from “The Sparky Sessions” about a couple making money by carrying out hits, and he (played by Sparky on the album) tiring and looking forward to spending their days together, but Emanuela’s character has other ideas and kills him. The lyrics are brilliantly crafted and its performed brilliantly.

Then we go back to 2016’s “With Monsters and Gods” for their cover of Blondie’s 1980 hit single Call Me. Its reimagined as a rockabilly track and believes boundless energy with some great bass playing shining through the mix. Emanuela’s voice is on cracking form.

Finally Oliver starts off with the unmistakable bass notes that welcome in Down on Your Knees (check out the fun video below) which gets a huge cheer. Its powerful and intense, a right party of a song designed to get everyone moving. What a fitting and fun end to the proceedings.

The Hillbilly Moon Explosion don’t disappoint. Crisp, smooth and delightful right from the off. I can’t recommend them highly enough for a brilliant night of live music - They’re a band that you just can’t afford to miss !

Setlist

Sometime Late At Night (Back in Time 2024)

I Live In My Head (Back in Time 2024)

Beg, Buy or Steal (Buy Beg or Steal 2011)

The Long Way Down (Raw Deal 2010)

Desperation (With Monsters and Gods 2016)

Queen of Hearts (The Sparky Sessions 2019)

Lets Go (Back in Time 2024)

1979 (Back in Time 2024)

Knocked Down (Back in Time 2024)

You Miss Something (With Monsters and Gods 2016)

Nothing Takes the Place (Back in Time 2024)