Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

This is a solid release. Great performances, strong sound, mostly great compositions, and a lot of originality. Quite refreshing.

Picks: Regresan De La Tumba, Heavy Surfer, Biarritz, El Pulpo, Mundaka, Kilahuea, Vulcan, Spaguetti, Guatiki, Ojos Verdes, Kalifornia

Surf (Instrumental)

A long jungle drums and growling introduction opens "Regresan De La Tumba." Once to the song, a circular and urgent set of riffs and tremolo chords reign. The break is a stomper. Beyond the break is a heavy double picked rendering that's very cool. Strong and aggressive.

Surf (Instrumental)

A splendid melody line is delivered with distortion and reverb, segmented by dark whammy chords. There are glancing references to a few classics that give it a period feel, yet "Heavy Surfer" is thoroughly modern. Very cool!

Surf (Instrumental)

"Biarritz" is a gently moving song with great whammy chords, a slightly sullen melody, and superb muted reverb in the cowboy break. This fine track really makes the grade. Upon seeing the title, I wondered if this would be a cover of the Bruce Johnston song, but it is an entirely original song with great appeal.

Surf (Instrumental)

Muted reverb, intense lead notes, thrashy chord rhythm, rumbling bass, and strong drums combine to deliver a raucous number with a very aggressive and splashy sound. "El Pulpo" is wholly original and commanding.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Mundaka" is a dark grumbler with very cool muted thrash and edge. Not really melodic, but most certainly powerful. It conveys an image of terror on a humongous wave, like a small day at Mavericks. This isn't the Surf Kings song of the same title.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Kilahuea" is a rocker with a rockabilly guitar tone and gutty rhythm. More a riff rocker than a surf song, but it does convey the urgency of shortboard thrashing. Midway, it borrows a classic muted surf rhythm and borrows a riff or two from the past. Quite fun.

Surf (Instrumental)

Big whammy chords, dark glissandos, thundering bass, and pounding drums. "Vulcan" is all about high energy fast moving curl. Very powerful.

Surf (Instrumental)

Tribal jungle drums support a classic Enio Morricone style melody dramatically riding atop an infectious western surf rhythm track. The muted reverb lines keep "Spaguetti" in the surf camp. A superb track.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Guatiki" is structurally very much in the style of vintage frat rock. The riff and energy are the main feature.

Surf (Instrumental)

"Ojos Verdes" is an easy going piece with a summer island sound and feel. The melody and the flow are very pretty. You can just feel the warmth of the tropical sun and see the palms moving slightly in the gentle on shore breeze. Very nice!

Surf (Instrumental)

Great drums and muted chop chords, and a melody riff that's more or less The Dead Kennedys' "California Uberallis." Borrowed references to the Original Surfaris, and the high energy drive of both of those bands make "Kalifornia" a very powerful track. Out past the end is a dangerous minute-long big chord drama ending in screams and evil tiki laughs.