Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Split: Surfpatrouille - Venus Pussy Polka Riot / Kilaueas Magmanautic Inferno
 | Surfpatrouille plays crunchy hard driving surf with a bit of the Euro feel and reverb soaked heavy modern tone and real twang. Lots of fire, mostly on the fast side, and plenty of imagination. The Kilaueas offer up garagie sound and interesting writing. While a trio, the arrangements are full, except that the bass often follows the lead too closely instead of countering. The infectious nature of the playing, and the burning fire in the musicians' guts, combined with no shortage of reverb, makes for a thrashy surf ride. |
Picks: The Kilaueas - Surfin' The Exosphere, Agent Magma, Il Morte Charvalla Con Lui, Venus Kissed The Sea, Tentacle Stomp, Amazon, Zarah Interstellar, Watusi Island, Aquanautic Inferno, Surfpatrouille - Surfpatrouille Orion, Venus Pussy Polka Riot, Warp VI, Man O' Surf, TelSka, P.O.P., Long Riders On Ventura, Brazil, Survest, Tony Soprano, Supernova #5, Miss Marple, Surfin' Marge, Sci-Fi / Lo-Fi, Godfather
Track by Track Review
The Kilaueas - Surfin' The Exosphere Surf (Instrumental)
Surf a la garage riffology spiked with reverb and intense double picking. 'Tis a nasty bit of surf, full of fire and foam.
The Kilaueas - Agent Magma Surf (Instrumental)
Lying somewhere between trash and surf, "Agent Magma" rides high on the crest of a choppy swell at Sewer Peak. Yup, it's a short board fantasy about a daredevil punk in garbage pit conditions. Splashy and cool.
The Kilaueas - Il Morte Charvalla Con Lui Surf (Instrumental)
"Il Morte Charvalla Con Lui" is both garagy and artful. It's well developed and thrashy, intensely driven and nicely arranged. Infectious and melodic. Death at the hands of mother ocean by beating against the rocks.
The Kilaueas - Venus Kissed The Sea Surf (Instrumental)
The slightly ska/polka influences play nicely against the fine lead lines. The bass lines hold center stage in places, while the drums dominate in others. Wet twang and fine arranging.
The Kilaueas - Puka Punch Surf (Instrumental)
Chunky stompin' Surferama, with splashy reverb and a nasty jammin' feel. Not exactly a song, but an intense surf experience.
The Kilaueas - Tentacle Stomp Surf (Instrumental)
Vibrating, eerie, and poundy, "Tentacle Stomp" splashes and thrashes on the beach. Quite spirited, with a hard driving beat and a lot of energy.
The Kilaueas - Green Shadows Surf (Instrumental)
"Green Shadows" sports a solid surf edge and style, and relies on a slightly melodic riff. Much more drive than art, way more intensity than articulation.
Surf (Instrumental)
Slightly exotic, mostly aggressive, and yet delicate and precise. "Amazon" must be about the women because it sure doesn't portray the South American river. Lots of drive.
The Kilaueas - Zarah Interstellar Surf (Instrumental)
Reverb crashes, thundering drums, and intense spin cycle surf. Fast cutbacks may save your life in this soup, but you won't get out with clean baggies.
The Kilaueas - Watusi Island Surf (Instrumental)
This is a cool track. On the slower island side of the genre, "Watusi Island" shimmers and dances on the monitors. Fine percussion and moody writing. Excellent.
The Kilaueas - Negra Modelo Surf (Instrumental)
A teensy spaghetti, a bit cowboy, and a little surfy. This riff rockin' track is wet, but doesn't quite hold my attention.
The Kilaueas - Aquanautic Inferno Surf (Instrumental)
The snare plays out faster and faster until the guitar comes in shredding. Ending with reverb crashes galore, "Aquanautic Inferno" lives up to its title. A monster for a surf might mare.
Surfpatrouille - Surfpatrouille Orion Surf (Instrumental)
Big twang chords, heavy twang lead work, and a somewhat menacing modern riff. Some flying guitar, some modern licks, some surf some edge, and plenty of power. Quite interesting.
Surfpatrouille - Venus Pussy Polka Riot Surf (Instrumental)
Like a spy epic from another world, "Venus Pussy Polka Riot" is menacing and fluid. There's a sense of Laika and the Cosmonauts, but with more edge. Quite heavy and intense.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a heavy surf riff slammer, with thundering tom toms and in your mug twango. "Warp VI" straddles the intersection between big guitar Austin twang, the Smithereens and surf. Huge and powerful, with a great cacophonous self destructing feedback ending.
Surfpatrouille - Man O' Surf Surf (Instrumental)
Harmonics, weird danger, mean tone, disturbing spy themes, and heavy attack. "Man O' Surf" keeps you going, especially when the lead guitar breaks into a double picked duel. Excellent and original sounding.
Surf (Instrumental)
Tornados' "Telstar" is given new life in a flying double picked surf over ska arrangement that is very infectious. What a natural transformation. It is both original and familiar, like a really well done cover should be. Excellent!
Surf (Instrumental)
Sparkling guitar, like a hyped Hank Marvin sound, drives hard in an intriguing structure. The melody riff is catchy and spunky, with hard driving drums and lots of power. Infectious and interesting as well. The question is, does "P.O.P." stand for Pacific Ocean Park? The answer from Massi is: it means "Party Over Pluto."
Surfpatrouille - Long Riders On Ventura Surf (Instrumental)
Sultry vibrato drama, Viscounts romance, and a pretty riff slowly float across your radar screen. This is a fine track, soothing yet mean.
Surf (Instrumental)
Only rarely surfed up, "Brazil" is a natural for the reverb generation. This interpretation is quite stunning. Richly twanged and delicately picked, this captures the spirit of the tune while adding more intensity. Excellent!
Surf (Instrumental)
A grode low-E intro yields to a melody with a slight eastern European feel. The bridge is tuff, and the drums excellent. Solidly arranged, "Survest" is a fine adventure in cold water surf, with a chilling vibrato break.
Surfpatrouille - Tony Soprano Surf (Instrumental)
More rock than surf, "Tony Soprano" is a heavy plunderer, with double picking on some verses and a stormy feel. Intense, yet not nerve wracking.
Surfpatrouille - Supernova #5 Surf (Instrumental)
Punky churn and progressional riff rockin', with swimming whammy and intense twang. Inviting, no more like demanding. Yee-haw!
Surfpatrouille - Miss Marple Surf (Instrumental)
I can recall for sure, but this may well be the theme from the BBC series. In any event, it certainly is without her restraint. Fast, solid, enjoyably spunky, splashy and melodic.
Surfpatrouille - Surfin' Marge Surf (Instrumental)
This is very interesting! Shredding double picked guitar, a TV theme feel (a variant on the Simpsons theme), and lots of fun. The intensity plays well against the quirky fun of the melody. The break is the "Star Bangled Banner." Too fun.
Surfpatrouille - Sci-Fi / Lo-Fi Surf (Instrumental)
Slightly weird, a little tweaked, and very smooth, "Sci-Fi / Lo-Fi" goes to the heart of sci-fi without yielding to the temptation of cheesy sound effects. Rich and enjoyable.
Surfpatrouille - Godfather Surf (Instrumental)
This soft and articulate performance of the film's main theme gently sparkles, like a romanticized Mafioso... hey wait, that's what it's all about isn't it. About a minute and a half in, we're delivered to a powered double picked in your grave delivery for a verse before dropping back into the extremely artful theme. It ends with a machine gun blast.