Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Coffin Daggers - Monsters From The ID
| A mix of previously issued material, marginal spooky stuff, and a superb double header of "Caravan," Monsters From The ID is a good bet. Cool packaging and fun, primal music. |
Picks: Coffin Dagger, Parasite, Spooky, Smoke, But First... The Tranya!, Caravan
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
"Coffin Dagger" is a dark and dangerous song with an evil tone and riff. Not melodic exactly, but Middle Eastern and threatening. Lots of energy here, and great drums.
Surf (Instrumental)
Pumpin' organ, throbbing bass, eerie danger, and even a hint of Jaws. Pretty fun.
Surf (Instrumental)
Some engaging things happening here, with cool guitar licks and haunted keys. "Borgo Pass" is rather original. Great drum work, and some fine playing from all.
Surf (Instrumental)
Like a slow and tortured graveyard version of "Church key," this is a plodding and ghoulish track with a real monsters on the loose feeling, in the fifties b-movie way.
Surf (Instrumental)
Henry Mancini's "A Shot In The Dark" is very nicely dished out with the cheesiest organ ever.
Surf (Instrumental)
"The Heinous Mr. Hyde" is a disturbing number with a slow stomping beat and organ-guitar struggles for command.
Haunted Pad Surf (Instrumental)
Warbled elstro-noise opens before the organ lounges its way in for a pretty goofy ride. "Haunted Pad" is on the silly side, way more fun than cool.
Something Wicked This Way Comes Surf (Instrumental)
Big chord and drum drama, glissandos, and intense minimal melody. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is louder than it is engaging. Excellent double picking, though it is applied to not much of a melody.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Parasite" is an interesting song with a catchy guitar riff and haunted organ. It seems to be thematically ghostly in some ways, and verging on dangerous. Nice track.
Surf (Instrumental)
Working on haunted thrills, "Evil Eye" is an odd number with an original structure in places. Some fine playing too.
Surf (Instrumental)
An easy monster bass line, tremolo soaked guitar, and a fifties mood. "Spooky" waits a while for the lead guitar to come along. The melody riff is nicely developed, as is the arrangement.
Surf (Instrumental)
Slow and moody, "Smoke" seems tangentially inspired by "Harlem Nocturne," but is not ominous like that. It slowly grows on you, eventually soothing the savage beast without relieving his fear. Strange, but cool.
Surf (Instrumental)
"But First... The Tranya!" is like part one of "Caravan". This stands out for several reasons. First, it retains a healthy nod to the early big band arrangements. Second, the organ's groan gives it a graveyard feeling. Third, the guitar lines verge in disturbed at times. And, then there are those glissandos. Quite satisfying.
Surf (Instrumental)
Spooky organ and piano over tribal drums create an exotica "Riders On The Storm" kind of thing that starts off seeming to be dismissible, but evolves into a very cool piece. Dramatic and engaging, with rising intensity. Eventually yielding to "Caravan" to bring it full circle.