Tag Archives: Surf

Jan and Dean: Surf City and Other Swingin’ Cities

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Take a road trip with Jan & Dean

As great as are the singles (1963’s “Surf City” and “Honolulu Lulu”), Jan & Dean’s first concept album doesn’t always represent their most interesting or inventive work. Heavy on covers that pale in comparison to the originals, the duo’s nasally voices weren’t well-suited to Rodgers & Hart’s “Manhattan” or Tony Bennett’s classic “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Still, Jan Berry’s true stereo production is excellent, and there are some unusual touches in his arrangements – like fuzz guitar played against violins – that are oddly compelling. They manage to rock Freddy Cannon’s “Tallahassee Lassie” in a sun-bleached West Coast sort of way, and fare nicely with the nostalgic novelty “Philadelphia, PA” the swinging cha cha of Chuck Berry’s “You Came a Long Way from St. Louis,” and the go-go closer “Soul City.” [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The Famous: Come Home to Me

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Post-punk informed country twang

San Francisco’s The Famous, led by guitarist/vocalists Laurence Scott and Victor Barclay, debuted five years ago with the post-punk rock of Light, Sweet Crude. They still profess deep affection for the Pixies, but their new release isn’t nearly as raw as the debut, and the country twang explored on the earlier “Deconstruction Worker” is the new record’s raison d’être. Scott’s vocals retain their edgy emotion, and the music still has its rock power, but the band plays with more dynamics, and the tempos mull over the lyrics’ angst rather than spitting them out. If country music’s original outlaws had made their break with Nashville in the post-punk era, it might have sounded a lot like this. Scott’s bitter words and needy tone straddle the line between anger and remorse on the perfectly unconvincing “Without You,” and though “Perspicacious” sounds like the post-punk power-pop of Sugar, Scott retains the twang in his voice. The band shows their instrumental chops on the lengthy spaghetti-western intro to “Happy,” and the title track mixes the growl of Tom Waits and dark theatrics of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins with a mix of trad-jazz trombone, hard-twanging guitar and pedal steel. The closing instrumental “Under the Stars” is wistful, with countrypolitan piano, lazy steel and a terrific Endless Summer guitar that draws the day’s surfing (or perhaps trail ride) to a close. The melding of eras and influences is heard throughout the album, with heavy lead guitars winding into hard-charging Gun Club-styled verses, and spare solos that build into musical walls. This is a terrific evolution from the band’s debut, focusing the muscle and energy of their post-punk rock into compelling, emotional twang. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Under the Stars
Stream Come Home to Me
The Famous’ Home Page

The Bulletproof Vests: (Don’t) Throw My Love Away

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Throwback garage rock meets power punk

This Memphis quintet plays amped-up garage-pop that lives somewhere amidst the scratchily anthologized garage-rock singles of AIP’s Pebbles series, the power-punk ethos of the Buzzcocks, the post-punk aggression of The Fall, and a splash of surf-rock in the guitars. The result is more vintage Northwest than Southern. Their latest release is, appropriately enough, a mono 7” available via Goner Records and Bandcamp. Or if you’re stuck in the modern world, you can name your own price for a digital download. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | (Don’t) Throw My Love Away
The Bulletproof Vests’ MySpace Page

Messer Chups: Heretic Channel

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Surfing the Baltic Sea

French… English… Esperanto… the world’s true lingua franca is apparently surf music, as shown by this Russian Federation group’s impressive instrumental chops. Hailing from St. Petersburg, their music is inspired by some tasty Baltic Sea waves. The brainchild of artist/musician Oleg Gitarkin, the band has previously collaged a variety of musical and spoken sources, including surf rock, soundtracks and film dialog. A few fragments of the latter remain, but this is primarily an instrumental surf music album stoked by spring reverb, tremolo and vibrato bends. There are a few vocals, sung and recited, dialog clips and sound effects, but its twangy guitars and pounding drums that keep things rolling. Gitarkin’s fascination with horror films is evoked in the titles “Vincent Price Bible,” “Bruce Lee vs. Christopher Lee,” and, invoking both Herbie Hancock and 1950’s 3-D, “Rock It, Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The original “Twin Peaks Twist” brings the atmospheric creepshow to the dance floor where you’ll already be working on your surfer’s stomp. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

Messer Chups’ MySpace Page

French Kissing: Oh Suzanne / The Lonely Streets of Cairo

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Guitar rock meets retro DIY in a UK garage by the beach

French Kissing is a London band that’s carving out retro garage and surf sounds echoing the twang and reverb of British Invasion instrumentalists like the Shadows, the DIY ethos of late ‘70s punk and new wave bands, the retro vibe of The Milkshakes and Barracudas, and the thick, pop noise of the Jesus and Mary Chain, et al. Their upcoming single rethinks the song “Oh Suzanne,” as originally released on their 2009 EP I Would Let You Know. The new version is more polished, with the bass and drums more evenly blended and the lead and harmony vocals more deftly balanced. The guitar solo that kicks in at 1’40 still suggests Dave Davies’ early work, though with modern tone in place of the raw studio sound of 1964. The new version is planned for a limited edition of 200 vinyl singles, and can be picked up from their label, or streamed below. The B-side, “Cairo,” remains vinyl-only. I’d also highly recommend picking up their previous EP for its evocation of garage punk (ala the Morlocks and Chesterfield Kings) on “I Would Let You Know” and “Please Please.”  [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Oh Suzanne
French Kissing’s MySpace Page

Dick Dale: King of the Surf Guitar

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Dale’s second album dilutes the guitar sting of his debut

Dick Dale’s second album was his first to be issued on the Capitol label, and though his guitar playing is solid (as is his saxophonist’s), the song selection isn’t as inspiring as his debut, Surfer’s Choice. The Blossoms, featuring Darlene Love, back Dale on the title track and the guitarist sings lead on “Kansas City,” “Dick Dale Stomp,” and several other tracks. The covers include R&B, Soul, Folk, Country and International tunes that aren’t always the best showcase for Dale’s immense instrumental talent. Or at least they’re not always arranged to leave space for his guitar. The second half of the album offers more charms, with staccato flat-picked shredding on “Hava Nagela” and “Riders in the Sky,” fancy picking on “Mexico” and a low twangy groove on “Break Time.” Sundazed’s CD reissue adds two bonus tracks, both instrumentals that offer up samplings of Dale’s six-string craft, but on balance there’s more singing and sax than belongs on an album titled “King of the Surf Guitar.” This album leaves you wanting more of Dale’s picking, which just might have been the idea at the time. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

Dick Dale’s Home Page
Dick Dale’s MySpace Page

The Sadies: Tales of the Rat Fink

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sadies_talesoftheratfinkToo-short surf tracks bail before shooting the curl

These twenty-six tracks were drawn from the like-titled documentary on custom car legend Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. Unfortunately the tunes were purpose-written as transition music for the film, so rather than complete compositions excerpted for use on the soundtrack, the originals range from 0:35 (“The Milky Way”) to 1:35 (“The 3-B”); the album’s only full length track is the closing “The Double Wide.” That said, what’s here are superb, richly detailed and reverb drenched surf-styled instrumentals whose melodies could certainly sustain three or four minutes each. At these short lengths, however, the songs just get their established when it’s time to move on to the next track. It’s as if they’re paddling towards onto a primo wave and bailing before catching the lip. ADD surf music lovers may love the quick turnarounds, but most listeners will wish the group had fleshed out a dozen of these ideas to more satisfying lengths. What’s here is tuneful and twangy, but it’s most satisfying as transitional music for the film. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Various Artists: The Ikon Records Story

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various_ikonrecordsstoryTreasure trove of mid-60s Sacramento garage sides

This two-CD set catalogs 58 obscure garage-rock sides waxed at Sacramento’s Ikon Studio in the mid ’60s. Ikon was one of Sacramento’s top professional recording studios, and in addition to commercial work, they operated the custom Ikon label. Local groups, including many Battle-of-the-Band winners visited Ikon to imortalize themselves on a hundred copies of a 7″ single. The low production runs kept Ikon a secret from even many ardent garage rock collectors, and poorly mastered third-party vinyl (by Modern in Los Angeles) often failed to convey the high quality of the original recordings.

Compilation co-producer Alec Palao dug up a reel of original masters, and as the project rolled along, additional masters were recovered. The resulting snapshot of mid-60s young Sacramento is rendered in sound quality often better than the original singles. As a studio-for-hire, Ikon recorded all kinds of music, but Palao and co-producer Joey D keep a bead on garage rock (including snotty punk, folk rock, surf, frat stompers and organ rave-ups), some quite polished and some lovingly inept. This set is a gem, offering top-notch sound quality, good tunes, and plenty of spirited performances. Palao’s extensive band notes fill out a booklet thick with photos and reproductions of period ephemera. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]