This is my 5-star review on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Futourism-The-Tomorrowmen/dp/B0131ZB004/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

A Sci-Fi Surf Guitar Symphony

Futourism is the new record by The TomorrowMen. I had the opportunity to see the band perform many of the new songs at the 2015 Surf Guitar 101 Convention. They were on their game and delivered a powerful, energetic performance.

After the Convention, I listened to the album multiple times. As a general overview, it is a very intricate and complex record. There is so much going on that it takes time to process. It's almost like the guys wrote a Sci-Fi surf guitar symphony. Every time I listen to it, I like it even more.

Of course, there are some songs, like “New Democracy,” that are amazing right from the start. This song has a great beat, bouncy feel and uplifting vibe. The melody is irresistible. If the general music consuming public were aware of this song, it would be a Hit.

“Parsec's Paradox” really reminds me of the earliest EP recording by the band. It's very fresh and has the instantly recognizable, trademark lead guitar style employed by Mycroft Eloi (Danny Snyder). It's almost like he is playing piano on his Jazzmaster as the notes fly by.

“Back To Reality” has a very different tone for the T'Men. It turns out that the lead was recorded with a snarly sounding Rickenbacker going through a slightly overdriven Vox clone amp. For some reason, this song reminds me of some of the Euro surf guitar bands.

“Adrienne's Song” is a gorgeous retro-pop instrumental, presumably written for Danny's wife. That's a really smart move that probably has other surf guitarists wondering why they didn't think of that.

What do you get when you mix a trad surf song with some country licks? Why you get “All Summer In A Day” of course! Quite an interesting mix, but it works.

“Hemispherical Synchronization” (what a name!) spins up and down at the beginning and ending in a unique way that makes you smile. In between, it has a cool, funky back-beat rhythm that just grabs you. I have never heard another song like it. You can tell that it was written by Lazarus Longfellow (Ferenc Dobronyi), who always plays guitar with such enjoyment.

“Lost” is one of my favorites. I really like any song that makes you want to bop around and “Lost” has that in abundance. It also has a recurring chorus/bridge that pushes some emotional buttons.

Those are just some highlights, as the remaining songs are also definitely worth checking out. Overall, I think that this is an excellent album. I keep waiting for The TomorrowMen to get some Sci-Fi promotional tie-in, because their act is well conceived and has a sense of humor. This particular record really has an outer space atmosphere about it too. Let's hope some movie producer notices!

If you get the physical CD version, there are really cool extras, such as wonderfully illustrated postcards from their various time travel destinations. Better buy this one before the guys jump into a new time dimension!

Paul

Last edited: Sep 04, 2015 09:29:18

From New Zealand music blog - Active Listener....

Reviewed by Nathan Ford

One thing I'd like to cover a bit more of on the Active Listener is instrumental surf revival, but I find myself largely disappointed by the contemporary releases I hear, with bands either sticking too closely to the template set in the early sixties (with clinical contemporary production), or going too far the other way and losing that indefinable surf magic somewhere along the way.

One band that get it right bigtime are San Francisco four piece the Tomorrowmen, who have just released their sophomore effort "Futourism", which I've been spinning relentlessly for the last couple of weeks, with all of the right buttons being pressed.

It almost seems unfair to call "Futourism" a surf-revival album. There's absolutely no way that this album could have been released during the era of the initial surf craze - it's way too forward thinking for that, but everything that I love about the music of that era is present here, particularly the propulsive drums, and the tremelo-laden guitar work. But like their San Francisco peers the Mermen, the Tomorrowmen stretch out beyond the restrictive confines of the genre into more experimental areas, without ever losing sight of where they're coming from. Add an appealling sci-fi twist (not uncommon for this genre, but rarely integrated so seamlessly), and you're on to a winning combination.

Opener "Parsec's Paradox" starts things off in a more traditional mold, but even here, it's apparent that the guitar work of Mycroft Eloi and Lazarus Longfellow is much more fluent and investigative than the majority of their peers and forefathers. And their melodicism makes its presence known immediately, with a palm-muted staccato section here, smothered in reverb which is absolutely gorgeous. And as the album progresses, it becomes more progressive, with the more traditional approaches of the first half blossoming into latent psychedelia and wilful genre-straddling for an extremely impressive second half, exemplified best by the clockwork syncopation of "Hemispherical Synchronization".

"Futourism" is an extremely impressive and memorable example of instrumental progressive surf music, a perfect encapsulation of the futuristic retro-chic exhibited on its sleeve, and a damn fine album to boot.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
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"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Last edited: Sep 24, 2015 23:44:25

Dalibor wrote:

Ok. Not sure if there is already a topic about this album but I have to say that this is GREAT!!! I'm not good in writing reviews but I can recommend this album as one of the best new surf releases in a last few years. Excellent songwriting, arrangements, cover art. I really like it!

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

I've been listening to this in heavy rotation along with the new Madeira and recently released Satan's Pilgrms rarities album. Wow, what a time to be a surf music fan!

This album is just freaking glorious, it makes me smile and so happy deep inside. Expertly written, performed, and executed. Unique and ambitious song writing. Love the Sci-Fi touches. The Tunak cover is an over the top master piece adaptation. A true post-modern surf music classic that every fan should own. I salute these men from the future. What an accomplishment!

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Last edited: Oct 20, 2015 21:17:55

Here's an ad we created for the latest issue of The Continental Magazine...

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta