The Italian glam-psych trio combine attitude and childlike playfulness on ‘Money for Drugs’.

Greasy Kingdom (Andrea Tocci, Flippo Ciccioli, and Debora Contini) are a modern glam-psych trio hailing from the Italian region of Umbria. They recently signed to Hideous Mink Records, the label run by Jed Morgans from Opus Kink. ‘Money for Drugs’ is their debut single, which showcases the trio’s vision for oddball psychedelia coloured by spirited transgression.

‘Money For Drugs’ is a kind of life-affirming anthem that melds a campy glam styling with Jack Stauber wonkiness. Vocalist Andrea Tocci explains that it is, “Saying it’s better to spend money on drugs than on bullshit like cars, jewels… Drugs should be understood not as illicit substances but as any kind of vice.” The song’s not-so-subtle chorus, “I prefer to spend my money on drugs,” establishes the immediate joy of the carefree misbehaviour it describes. There are many parallels to Ariel Pink’s ‘Pom Pom’ era here, not only in its cheaply candy-coloured sound but also in its lyrical content, childishly simple and gratuitously shocking.

The single is a Willy Wonka teeth-rotting delight, with one foot dipped in a pool of childhood innocence and the other flaking off into the infinite chambers of an acid psyche. The trio’s love for oddball psychedelia is evident in their music, and their introduction to the Hideous Mink family is a telling vote of confidence.