Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA  | This is really fresh. Surf, espionage, Latin jazz, island cool, and most unusual. Surferigno are not at all trad, but they sure do play some cool tunes! |
Picks: Intro, Mr. Lou, Too Much Balboa, L'Agent Surprenant, Aqua Jet, Panique a Tokyo, Echoes Of Ennio, Surfing Yvette, Tiki Maua, Magnum, Agita (Nick_Apollo_Forte), The Stoop, Kung Fu Zombies, Outro
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
Opening guitar haunts with drama as the drums roll dangerously in the rear. Very imposing.
Surf (Instrumental)
The title led me to wrongly expect a version of "Miserlou." Instead it's an almost Ventures meets Duane Eddy spy song. Interesting, rhythmic, and compelling, with a circular riff and whammy dipped guitar lines. Very cool!
Surf (Instrumental)
Bouncy and swirly, the organ offsets the circular guitar that's almost like "Bumble Bee" at times. Fun, if not compelling.
Surf (Instrumental)
Thick and dangerous, "L'Agent Surprenant" is a surfy spy epic with a relentless rhythm and delicate lead. The unusual structure owes only a small debt to the great spy songs and surf genre. Adventurous and picturesque.
Surf (Instrumental)
A big glissando romps right into an angular sorta Batman-ish number with a quirky guitar line and big twang. "Aqua Jet" is a long way from trad, especially when the heavy fuzz guitar comes in. Big fun!
Surf (Instrumental)
Panned fuzz and Godzilla's cry open "Panic In Tokyo," a song with a rockin' riff and surf bridges. It's a cool song with a slightly less than gimmicky thing going on - less because it works really well without making the song silly. An excellent surfy track!
Surf Based (Instrumental)
A long slow distant glissando and howling feedback foretells of a haunting ambiance to come. Not really melodic, but spooky in a tweaky semi-sci-fi kinda way. This grows on you like the eerie feeling you get when you can't quite wake up from a distorted dream.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a delicate slow song with a humorous melody that's odd without being weird. "Surfing Yvette" must be some dish to inspire such an instro. In some ways, it's like the "Girl From Ipanema," with its off-key edge.
Surf (Instrumental)
The sea gently laps an island shore in this Hawaiian-esq number. "Tiki Maua" is gentle and slow moving, with a very pretty melody line and scenes of sunset vacation in Kona. Quite nice.
Surf (Instrumental)
Rising from silence via keyboard edge, guitars play an espionage vs. Russian song that's both odd and compelling. Very sophisticated, yet surfable and simple. The drums are very cool, almost cowboy rolling, while the guitars weave several styles into a web of danger and deceit. Excellent.
Agita (Nick_Apollo_Forte) 
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a sort of Mediterranean line dance number with a touch of sadness and very nice guitar work. The song is very well played with humor and precision. Excellent!
Surf (Instrumental)
Drums, drums, then bass, then eventually guitars. It's a sort of "Louie Louie" instro, but as if filtered through too many beers. Pretty fun.
Surf (Instrumental)
A bouncy bass line launches a spy vs. spy kind of song. Angular, engaging, stinging, and disquieting. The dissonant melody line and almost Zappa backtrack remind me a little of Pollo Del Mar.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Outro" is much like "Intro," slow and guitar haunted spooky.