Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Collection: Mad Fabricators Society - Volume One
 | If you're a fan of lo-fi, frat rock, or post punk assaults, this might be for you. Otherwise, I found this to be mostly dismissible. there are a couple of bright spots, but with so many bands releasing so much great surf music, why settle for less? In addition to the instros, there are a number of very poorly recorded angry vocals. |
Picks: 1666, Gear Grinder, When The Chevy Breaks, Situation 69, Church Bus, The Chisler, 99 A.D., Mission Control, Dynotone Stomp, High Wall, The Cape, Shadow People, Baron von Surf Helmet, 2000 Pound Bee, Wolfman, X-14 Skycycle
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
Dark and murky, with an evil edge. Knuckel Drager make intense snarling sounds that seem to support the samples about monsters. Heavy and intense.
Surf (Instrumental)
Low brow frat surf riffology here, with an interesting panning vibrato guitar being what holds it all up. Just a progression that implies ominous scenes.
Surf (Instrumental)
A great title idea. Long pick slides, murky imagery, and deep reverbed ambiance. "When The Chevy Breaks" commands attention despite simplicity by providing a heavy wash of sound and fury.
Situation 69 Surf (Instrumental)
This is horribly murky lo-fi, and the song is not very interesting either. It's a huge departure from their usual material.
Church Bus Surf (Instrumental)
Also very murky, "Church Bus" is at least kind of monstrous in it's imagery. The dreadful sound makes it very hard to take seriously.
Surf (Instrumental)
"The Chisler" is a traditionally based surf instro with quite a nod to "Shake-N-Stomp." Lots of spunk and surf flow, and relatively lo-fi sound.
Surf (Instrumental)
Major garage fuzz... not just distortion, but teeth grating fuzzzz. Like something from a Kinks frat party, "99 A.D." oozes knuckle draggin' low brow boozin' weekend fun.
Surf (Instrumental)
Annoying samples superimposed over the beginning and placed within interrupt an otherwise pretty fun instro with a couple of guitars and keys pumping out dangerous surfisms. It's a swirly semi-psychedelic wash at times.
Surf (Instrumental)
This chunky stomp is rhythm oriented, stomp on demand driven, and a little on the jammin' side. Lotsa chunkin' fun.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a fine and intense cover of the Wailers' "High Wall." With great reverb and grungy intensity, the Dynotones make a nasty monster even nastier. Whew! The feedback decay at the end is perfect.
Surf (Instrumental)
"The Cape" is derivative of "Tequila" at times, and otherwise is a riff rocker of the frat variety. Not very engaging, but fun in the right circumstances.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Shadow People" is a slow moving swirl with a good melody line and dark imagery. Murky characters lurk just out of site. Nervous chords give rise to fear. Rhythmic pumping yields to heavy post-punk-metal grunge.
Baron von Surf Helmet Surf (Instrumental)
"Baron von Surf Helmet" is an interesting song captured in dreadfully murky audio. Structurally, it has good balance and flow, but aurally, it's on the verge of unlistenable. It's not distorted per say, just buried in very bad EQ and low resolution.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a very pedestrian version of the Ventures song. It's probably fun live, but with so many better versions on disc, it just doesn't hold up.
Surf (Instrumental)
The Bobby Fuller Four's "Wolfman" is sparkled and howled... and with the register shifted up a notch, it takes on a new feel... plus there's a fuzz break for the car port. Pretty cool.
X-14 Skycycle Surf (Instrumental)
This is a highly derivative riff rocker that relies on its energy and assaultive sound. Uninteresting.