Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Star and Key of the Indian Ocean - Surf Strike!


 | This is an interesting release. The sound is shallow, perhaps ambient, but much of the music is fresh and spunky. If the Squares peaked your interest, this surely will too. |
Picks: Side A, Let's Go, Fat Back, Moon Man, Penetration, Pipeline, Phantom Wave, Chagos Archipelago, Side B, Finger Ache, Summer Sucks, Taunus Creme, She's A Whore, Rattle Shake, Spring Break, Tiger Kab, Untitled
Track by Track Review
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Vibrato throbbed feedback space ambiance dominates this thrashy storm surf swirler. There's nothing rolling or calming about this at all. Alarming!
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Thrashy chords and grindy twango, whammy bar action, and frat attack. Fast glissandos and shouts from the band. Very high spirited, and sparkling is spots.
Fat Back 
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Link Wray's garage anthem, all garaged up and ready to rumble.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Vibrato charm, gutty guitar, and a sixties small combo coolness. Melodic enough and quite surfy, Moon Man rocks and powers with the requisite form and style.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Mondo frat powerhouse attack delivers "Penetration" from "just another cover" hell. Lots of energy and stompin' frat sound.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
"Pipeline" is more subtly played than most tracks here, and its vibrato throbbing lead counteracts some of the sparseness. Good rhythm and energy.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Constant whammy chord action and a cool riff, with big chord chunk and garage edge. High register glissandos and surf action abound.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Thundering throbbing double picked rhythm backs a high register melody line with charm and danger. Very cool, with lots of energy and a classic surf beat.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Psi-fi thunder and wail drive the natives off the shore. Then, in the aftermath, the surf punks shred and dodge the whirlpools. Awesome irritation in dangerous break.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
An exuberant beat drives home this frat-surf tune. Glissandos and thrashy charm, with lots of spunk. By the break, it's gotten your attention.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Double picked lead guitar reminds me a little of Vibrasonic, with a minimalist effective riff and lots of energy. Quite a cool track.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
A damped rhythm counterpoints a vibrato melody line for a garage Super Stocks feel. Infectious and fun, with some very cool charm and dynamics.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Vocal)
Dark surf grumble and whammy, more about a surf scene than a ride. Some sung/narrated lines give it the sort of edge that Bruce Joyner used to have.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
Surfy whammy and dark lead guitar thrash out a dangerous wave crashing into the rocks. Monstrous surf with a trash ethic. Very cool!
Spring Break 
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
The kids are out of the house and mom and dad are nowhere in site. Too much beer and an embarrassing chest-baring later, the frat side of the genre dominates the soundscape. More thrash than substance.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
A long slow vibrato throb... a bluesy slide... it's intense and more about the sound than music. very cool.
Adventurous Frat Surf (Instrumental)
This unlisted and untitled track is narrated stomp and thrash weirdness, like the Beachnuts' "Surf Report," but more garage. It ends abruptly mid track.