This is the 4th release from The Chemist and even if you missed everything up to this point, the label should give you a good idea of what you're getting: loud, fast, power surf. Not just a trashy take on the 60's sound but instrumentals with oomph and size, definitely of the Man or Astro-man family. "Farm Nightmare" and "Kallocaine" change things up with the drumming and "escape from cerclon" has some theremin freakout. If you're like me, you need to have a regular intake of this sort of stuff, and this certainly does the trick.
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Engine noises were just too irresistable to listeners' ears -- nature be damned! $200 vs $150 Thanks to everybody that participated today, any donations to WTUL/Storm Surge of Reverb are still appreciated and can be made at www.wtulneworleans.com/donate.
Here's what I played. Black means NITRO song, Green means NATURE.
Years ago I had listeners vote with their dollars: Good vs. Evil. Evil won. The next year Evil went up against Science, Science Won. Then in 2016 Nature conquered Science.
This year we pit Nature vs Nitro, H20 vs CO2, or (to be more accurate about what you'll be hearing) COOL, BREEZY SURF MUSIC VS LOUD, MEAN HOT ROD MUSIC.
Today's playlist will change based on YOU. When you make a pledge, make a mention of whether your pledge goes to NATURE or NITRO. I'll play one song based on your donation, and the following songs will be set by which side has raised the most money.
At 19 songs and just short of an hour, there's a lot to digest here. Surf Out! is a duo with some help from friends playing garagey trad surf. At times that duo-ness sounds Flat Duo Jetsy, like on "Tango Whiskey" but they'll also do these slower numbers like "Sunsets and Surfboards". I think "Mariposa" strikes a nice balance between moments of elegance and a damn-it-all grab to make some noise. "Don't Freak Out" almost has a Dinosaur Jr grungey sound to it, and "Big Surf in Winnetka" takes some surprisingly odd turns towards the end.
Some straight trad stuff from Culebra here with a focus on melody over racket. Though guitar is at the forefront, the little touches of sax and organ are a nice sub-surface flourish. Though adequate, I think the sound production here isn't doing these songs justice -- there are some nice, memorable tunes here but they don't present themselves well on first listen. My favorite is the opener "Tres Palmeras"
You can buy it on 7" vinyl or digital download from Bandcamp.
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Storm Surge of Reverb, like surf music in general, is a money-losing endeavor.