What is Draculina?
That's been what I and I suspect many others have been asking about this project for a while now. Which is a different question than "Who is Draculina?", though that's a relevant one too. Polina Draculina is a bit of a mysterious character, a bassist from St. Petersburg, Russia, at one point a member of Messer Chups, who has a seductive look in her videos though from seeing her around at Surfguitar101 Festival, seems a bit shy. I ask "what", however, because Draculina as a band is an enigma.
There are two parts that have been aruond around seemingly since the beginning. One is Larry Mullins who's most known as a drummer for Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Swans (not to be confused with Larry Mullen, drummer for U2). Then there's MuSick records. MuSick has been releasing almost exclusively big-name surf records since their recent revitalization, so rallying around a bassist without much track record is surprising. And by rallying, I mean she's backed up by a bit of a supergroup; members have included Chris Barfield (Huntington Cads), Evan Foster (Boss Martians) and Dusty Watson (Jon & the Nightriders, Slacktone, Dick Dale, etc). the aforementioned Larry Mullins, Melanie Vammen (The Pandoras), and a collaboration with Kid Congo Powers. And she's had promiment spots in the SurfGuitar101 Festival that Musick has had a big hand in organizing.
Basically, it seemed like Draculina the character could be a bit of a shtick, and that's fine! We're talking a genre with genuine love for people in lucha masks, kabuki masks, skeleton costumes, covers of Jewish songs, etc. because the music has been there to back it up. And with the personnel she brings, Draculina is pretty hard to dismiss. But I'm talking about this as if there weren't already a few EPs under her belt. Her debut was a cool surfy exotica EP, followed by an EP with two Shadows covers. Her self-titled EP started to get a bit more interesting, with a bit of a funky breakdown on "Our Kingdoms" and a very haunted castle vibe on "Sinhella" (as well as remasters of previous tracks). These were all good, but I felt a bit of "is this it?" It really felt like there was a big vision behind Draculina, and 4 years in in 2024, I just wasn't hearing this vision.
But here we are 6 years into the project with a debut LP, and the striking cover alone, with its Andy Warhol meets Batwoman comic look, feels more like something.
The album opens with "Our Kingdoms", largely unchanged from the past versions we've heard. It feels disappointing at first if you're waiting to hear something new, but in the context of the greater album or to a first-time listener, it makes a lot of sense here -- starting creepy and then switching gears into a sort of exploitation-funk riff, showing you that things are never entirely what they seem with this album.
"Cruel Touch" a weird and playful one, with Musters-esque thematics underneath a conversation that most listeners, myself included, won't understand due to what I'm guessing is Russian. There's mention of a "cruel touch" "doesn't hurt much" and a lot of "Nyetch!". For some reason, I quite like this track. I like the playful mystery of it, and the embracing of weirdness. Certainly parallels to the goofy vocal interjections of Messer Chups, but with distinct instrumentation.
"Tender Dracula" also has quite a vocal focus (English this time) and is one of the more overtly Halloweeny tracks on the record. The mood is excellent.
This is the third time we've seen "Sinhella" on a record and it's earned. It's not only a different mix with a bit more reverbed ambience, but guitar has been completely reworked with a new simple but effective riff. Draculina repeats the song title throughout to great effect, and the devlish organ that was a focal point of previous versions is now given more space to shine and pitch-bends a bit for psychedelic effect. This song has been given new blood!
"Constant Sorrow" is an instrumental soundtrack-appropriate creeper and "Totem" mixes guitar and bongos for a track that's a lot of fun and likely even more fun live.
However I think it's the second half of this record that really gives it body.
"Eye Talk" starts slow and creepy, definitely with a sense that something is lying in wait. Sure enough, it slams in with swirling guitar and turns into a bit of a thrill ride.
"Lost For Blood" starts with deep baritone guitar and erupts into Mexican brass, making me think of "From Dusk Til Dawn".
"Varietease" is a shapeshifter of a song, starting with a bit of a carnival sound to it, then with guitar adding a sense of danger. Something is wrong here, before you know it you're surrounded by a swarming howl of sound, like you're getting attacked by the performers of this show.
"Days of Pearly Spencer" is a direction I really didn't expect to see, staying a bit spooky but taking cues from Morricone (subtly but particularly in the organ!). Its latin drumming and cowbell keep it way more danceable than most desperado tracks would, but the triumphunt brass allows it to keep that Western feel. It's a very unique and effective track.
"Mermaid" is maybe the track where guitars shine the most. It's not a surf burner, there isn't one, but the guitars mirroring each other in dissonance is a great touch, and there's a really nice crescendo towards the end.
And this is probably where I should point out: a lot of people buying this album are probably doing so not so much for Draculina, but to hear the combined forces of Evan Foster and Chris Barfield. Those people will be pleasantly disappointed. I believe they never play on the same tracks. This is audibly not the name and face of Draculina hung on that band. As cool as that band might be, the guitar is far from the full story here. A lot of the heart of this record is the way it moves and swings -- bass and percussion -- Draculina and Mullins. Heck, the organ (also Mullins here) is pretty key too. I have no issues calling this a surf record of course, and you can even hear, say, the guitar on "Mermaid" and think "Oh yeah, that's Evan Foster", but at the end of this long road, we have a Draculina record that sounds like it's a Draculina record.
So wait, what is Draculina? Well after all that, I still don't know if I can find a core tenet that makes a Draculina song, but I think that's the smart move. We've got a pretty wide range of songs here that do a number of fun and creative things, so Draculina is a lot of things. It's typically spooky, both in the creepy way and sometimes the hokey way. It's often danceable, and usually fun! The title suggests a focus on film, and to some extent I hear that, with bits of Italian horror and old monster movies sprinkled in, but I think it's also about a sense of spectacle and a feast for the senses while you enjoy yourself care-free.
It's taken a long time to arrive at this point, but from what it looks like on the LP, they've finally found their footing, and I'm hoping we get another one like this in less than six years.
It's on vinyl (some varieties coming with a poster!) and streaming from MuSick Records.
