Straightforward set today but with new stuff from Os Pontas, Amphibian Man and Mullet Monster Mafia. Tune in at 4pm Central time!
Last week was July 4th so we had a song for every state. Here's what I played with the state in parens
7/4/2016 SURFIN USA
Ukraine's most prolific surf musician strikes again! Waves is a more sunny, trad surf approach but with a relentless energy. There's a greater focus on melody, though with oodles of speed and intensity kept in the mix. If you're a fan of 13th Magic Skull, I think this will be right up your alley, but it should appeal to a lot of surf fans in general.
The Crowkeepers were on my radar because of guitarist Bill Simms from Shoot the Pier - a two-person moody surf group he did with his daughter. The Crowkeepers keep a similarly somber tone to them that seems to loom even over the more upbeat tracks. It never really roars, much more likely to creep. They really lean into that sound on the album title track "Witches on the Rock", and I think it works well.
I've been snatching up old Sir Bald LPs in Discogs not even realizing that he was still pumping out new stuff. Sir Bald Diddley is a favorite for trad-style surf instrumentals that still have that 60's teenage grit and with his new outfit The Ripcurls you can expect more of that great sound and attitude.
I don't think Os Pontas are trying to rise to the top of the surf guitar virtuoso ladder -- they're all about fuzzed out primitive jungle sounds. Plenty of groups pull off primitive the natural way: by sucking, but Os Pontas walk that tough line of careful sloppiness -- sort of like early Black Lips records to step out of the instro realm. Fuzz Jungle is a fun record for stompin' around. The guitar speaks in a crass lizard brain language and the organs whirl to a Stax soul sound.
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