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Halloween is coming early this year thanks to The Haxans. Party Monsters, the debut outing of New Years Day’s Ash Costello and Matt Montgomery (AKA Rob Zombie’s Piggy-D) is an easily digestible collection of gothic horror-pop ditties, but its novelty wears off all too quickly; clichéd lyrics on Boo and the sugary-sweet I Think Of Demons undermine the great musical chemistry the two have. They’re at their best when they’re sincere, as on lead single Vampira, a lovely acoustic tribute to Finnish-American actress Maila Nurmi, but Dirty Magic is easily the best track on the record, showcasing the Zombie influence in its stomping rhythm and with a powerhouse vocal from Ash. Party Monsters is fun, but it’s simply too self-conscious to achieve the cult status The Haxans clearly aspire to.

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