n some ways, this is a very diverse CD, yet it has a continuity about it. Some fine modern adventurous surf, some larger than life progressive blues rock, and a few other sounds for good measure. The surf tracks are worth the price of admission. They are a long way from trad, but sure do sound right.
Picks: Red Sun, Killer Surf Attack, Highway, Long Haired Country Boy, Hurricane, Tornado, El Gringo, The Haunted Beach
"Red Sun"
Big splash, like you might expect from a long sunset glimpse on forbidding soil. Slide, reverb, rich bent chords... "Red Sun" is a spectacular gaze at long monster waves as the daylight fades. Stunning guitar. Slight hints of Mick Abrahms (Blodwyn Pig) slither through the orange skies.
"Pumpgun"
Big wah wah and cool drums. Intense and powerful.
"Killer Surf Attack"
Aquatic surges of whammy chords and a very surfable melody line over interesting drums bumping out a tuff beat. A glissando or two and it's all set for the big surf. A fine and adventurous track!
"I Wanna Be Evil"
Big and tuff boogie, rockin' and stompin' in the bar. Quite heavy and thumpy.
"Highway"
Slithering slide guitar opens the road up like a liquid white line fever. It reminds be somewhat of the very cool Chris Darrow - Max Buda "Eye Of The Storm" album on Takoma. Silky and aquatic.
"Black Moon"
Intense guitar, grumbling bass, and slow drums plunder the calm. Quite large.
"Long Haired Country Boy"
Demented cowboy twang, reverb and slide guitar, rompin' in Buck Owens' field. "Long Haired Country Boy" is a mighty cool track, with an infectious gate and slithery sound.
"Junkfood"
"Junkfood" is kinda jazzy in an almost Nice gets the power treatment kinda way. Like something adjacent to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but maybe more bluesy like Steamhammer or Nectar.
"Hurricane"
Surf 'n' splash reverb, a sorta spy melody line, and a catchy riff, combined to create a different take on surf. Very cool track.
"Tornado"
Surf chords whammified, sub spy surf melody, and a solid beat. Quite smooth and rich, with a catchy line. "Tornado" is a solid modern surf adventure.
"Fat Cat"
Tweaky and playful, "Fat Cat" bumps and rides a Zappa-esq guitar line to an afternoon strangeness.
"The Sad Little Girl"
Haunting and melancholy, "The Sad Little Girl" is dramatic and maybe a little heavy.
"El Gringo"
"El Gringo" presents a cowboy's ride through the cactus, where the twang's the thang. Lots of changes, with vibrato, fuzz, twang, and an infectious beat. Very cool track.
"The Haunted Beach"
A round riff tells of longboard mishaps just off the rocks. Adventurous and glissandoed, with tribal tom toms and reverb richly applied.
"Space Blues"
Phased electric blues powered and tweaked. A little too tweaky maybe, yet strangely attractive and disquieting.
"The Big Sleep"
Big Ben-ish notes open this soft sorta Hendrixian melody. "The Big Sleep" is a slow and soft salute to the great divide. It eventually soars in a modern rock style.
n some ways, this is a very diverse CD, yet it has a continuity about it. Some fine modern adventurous surf, some larger than life progressive blues rock, and a few other sounds for good measure. The surf tracks are worth the price of admission. They are a long way from trad, but sure do sound right.
Picks: Red Sun, Killer Surf Attack, Highway, Long Haired Country Boy, Hurricane, Tornado, El Gringo, The Haunted Beach