Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Chief Firewater Surf Band - First Heat
 | This mp3 album streams from the Chief Firewater Surf Band website track-by-track. Some surf, some light hearted fun, some very dark grind. Not traditional, but lots of well though out material. |
Picks: Hang 'um Ten, Surf's Up, Surf Swell Forecast, Beauty and the Beast, Classic Days USA, Beach Buggy Boogie, Chief Jr's 1st Surf Lesson, Beach Bully, Malibu Halibaloo, Seize The Day, Mustang Beach, Superheat Grind
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
"Hang 'um Ten" opens with chants and archetypal Indian drums. Amped with whoops and hollers, and twangin' surf guitar, it has a very endearing sound. Perhaps the coolest of the songs on the album, it really captures you. Very cool!
Surf (Instrumental)
Cycling glissandos and surf drums rock the house. This rock instro with surf leanings is just too fun. "Surf's Up" has an attractive beat and rhythm and tribal warmth.
Orchestral Surf (Instrumental)
The slow haunted sense of Enio Morrecone's visions of funerals is carried by the dramatic drums and flute. This is quite a marvelous track. Orchestral with sweeping sadness, "Surf Swell Forecast" seems all about resignation to the way things are, yet the strings (keys) swell with subtle optimism. Very nice!
Surf (Instrumental)
"Beauty and the Beast" is a heavy metal fest of churning chop-chords and military drums. Dark and nearly rusty, you can imagine a major sludge inversion of the Scorpions on a towering wall of death.
Surf (Instrumental)
Warm chords and beach music ethics run beneath a surfable melody and lead Sound. Muted dry chords provide a landlocked surf edge, and the warmth invites you in. Very tasteful.
Blues (Instrumental)
A bluesy boogie rocker in the Rory Gallagher tradition, "Beach Buggy Boogie" carries the house like so many blues jams. It never seems to matter how derivative they are. Just fun.
Chief Jr's 1st Surf Lesson Game Show (Instrumental)
There's no word for this beyond playful. It reminds me of Jim Lang's game show theme. Horns and a bouncing afternoon day-part sound.
Surf (Instrumental)
That nasty "Beach Bully" is comin' again... and he's not really very mean. This is a circulating and playful song with a childlike edge.
Exotica Beach Party (Instrumental)
Voices call out in tribal warbles as the beach fires burn into the midnight moonlight. Nearly a vocal, and verging on exotica, "Malibu Halibaloo" seems to play across dance and coastal lines, merging tropical jazz and beach party scenes.
Rock (Instrumental)
Hot guitar glissandos run like slurries in circles. The guitar is rock and the rhythm is too, yet "Seize The Day" has a beach-worthy edge.
Near Surf (Instrumental)
A bit of cowboy twang, handclap rhythm, nifty drums, and a friendly rhythm guitar cooperate admirable to support a warm semi-surf melody. "Mustang Beach" is a tasteful track with an infectious sound.
Heavy Rock (Instrumental)
Tweaky electronics, dry industrially metal drums, and heavy very dark chunk guitar soar and threaten with a post-punk menacing. Interesting and modern and unique.