Messer Chups: Hyena Safari

If Quentin Tarantino ever decided to make a cinematic tribute to Ed Wood, he should seriously consider using the album Hyena Safari by Messer Chups as a soundtrack. Messer Chups is a Russian band that combines samples from obscure horror films with surf music performed by guitarist Oleg Gitarkin and bassist Zombie Girl. Listeners might know the music of Gitarkin’s side project, Messer Für Frau Müller, another zany Russian group that avails itself of lounge sounds of the 1950s and actually makes more interesting music. One problem with Messer Chups is that the duo’s music has a tendency to rely on surf music clichés and become repetitive. Another is that the sampled dialogue is often more interesting than the songs. Still, “Hyena Safari”, like a good B-movie, is fun and worth experiencing at least once.