I love peer reviews, no matter the outlook. I don't think one can let reviews get to them, you can only grow from a negative review. Either they are right, or they highlight something you were trying to get a cross that they didn't quite get. As the artist that either lets you know you did something right or it gives you advice for the future.

I don't think album write-ups on this site are quite "reviews". They are... but I don't really count it as a proper review unless somebody has a large body of reviews to also look at and reflect upon to see their opinion formation.

I don't really like professional reviewers. Honestly, I am indifferent to them. It is their opinion.

What I do like, is somebody who writes passionately and is able to defend their review in an intelligent manner.

I find some opinions on this site very helpful, I also find some that cause me to think or do the complete opposite of what that person says.

And I do presume that if there is no chatter about a new release then people are just being polite. This could go for the image of the band or the actual music itself.

Of the albums I am truly passionate about, I can write huge essays expressing what I like about them as music and what it causes me to feel. Albums I am indifferent about... well... I wouldn't really want to write more than a sentence about. This rules out a intelligent review and would really just come off as terse.

I have a few words on this, there are reviews, and critiques. A review can be just documentarian, a critique has (hopefully constructive) observations. I burnt out on SG 101 during our last release, doing what a band does to get a word out I was called a kiss-ass to a reviewer who liked the disk... never addressed the actual music. Another of your heroes here burnt calories discrediting the Neptunes without even talking about our music... writing guitar player magazine when we were lucky enough to get some ink. I am trying to illustrate that this forum is a popularity contest that sometimes has little to do with the actual art in question. You may have to look elsewhere for actual honest opinions. Watch for the flame.

THe NEpTuNeS

Danny, I get your point, but I don't think we are the arbiters of surf music in relation to the promotion of the genre. I don't think a "lesser talented band" would turn someone away from or change their mind about a genre. Just my opinion. On a different note... I loved it when Zak was still here. He was honest and I respected his opinion.

THe NEpTuNeS

Last edited: May 22, 2011 10:39:31

PolloGuitar wrote:

And fans, do you find opinions expressed here on SG101
helpful? Or do you prefer professional reviews- (and
there are precious few writers who pay attention to
surf music.) Do you assume that if there is no chatter
about a new release, then people are just being polite
and not posting negative comments?

I think opinions expressed here are helpful. Maybe not all of the time, but more times than not. Even significant chatter offering little reasoning is often a sign of "good" work. And there are members whose words carry more weight, to be sure.

An opportunity I see is to elaborate on why the reviewer/critic thinks something is good, bad, or indifferent. From time to time, you'll find this, but I'd love it if there was more of this type of review.

I think more of this type of comment would affect sales, but not entirely. I believe this community supports peers even if they aren't the #1 "it band" of the time. While sometimes critical of work, this place doesn't feel like a dog-eat-dog community. I think that's a good thing too.

Last thought for now, I do believe that little to no comment about a release is more about people being nice publicly (Mamma always said if you can't say something nice...) and less about being able to get to all of the work. Granted, the later happens - I sure can't keep totally current, buying every single release that comes along and work my backlog of "must buy" releases. As a relative newcomer, that back catalog list is still pretty long.

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

I would like to see all kinds of reviews in this section. I don't receive every surf release for review in the Continental Magazine, so it's good to see all sorts of reviews here. I can look at them, and contact bands/labels to obtain a review copy to write about in the magazine, or if it looks like something that should be in our shop, I can try to get a bunch of 'em to sell.

Like mentioned earlier, there are very few professional reviewers that pay attention to surf music. I definitely don't consider myself to be a professional reviewer. However, I've written literally thousands of reviews over the years. When I write, it's really just one person's perspective, mine, and it's still kinda weird to me that other people read and value my reviews, and even base purchasing decisions on what I write. Who am I to say what you should buy and what you shouldn't. However, I think it is the fact that I have written about so many releases that gives my reviews some value. If you like a bunch of discs that I've given glowing, 5-star reviews to in the past, you can probably buy the discs that I gave 5-star reviews to in the most recent Continental magazine and be assured that it's something you'll like.

On the flip side, while I admire and respect everything that Phil Dirt has done for the surf music community, I know that if he gives something a one or two star review, there's a good chance I'll like it. Whether you agree or disagree with his reviews, he's consistent. So it can work that way as well.

I have really tried to be more critical in recent years, giving more releases negative reviews. I think there is definitely value in negative reviews - why should hundreds of people buy something that is mediocre? There could be valid reasons for a negative review - poor recording quality, poor performances, flubs, too many covers, unimaginative songwriting, etc. On the other hand, it can be tricky. For example, it's no secret that I'm not a fan of the Mermen. However, none of the reasons I've given above for writing a negative review can apply to their releases. I just plain don't like their music. So do I give it a 1 or 2 star review, based on how much I like it? Or should I give them a 4 or 5 star review, because the songs are performed well, recorded well, are all originals and show off great songwriting and playing skill? I know I'd go with the 1 or 2 star review, but hopefully I do a decent job explaining why I went with a low rating.

Negative reviews, in the long run, are also good for the band - it let's them know what's wrong with their recording and hopefully, in the future, they won't make the same mistakes.

I also think for the surf music scene as a whole negative reviews are good. There is lots of surf music out there, and to many, all surf music sounds the same. Most people, if they have any surf music in their collection at all, might only have a few albums. If one of those is bad (but got all positive reviews), they may think that represents the whole genre, and won't buy any more surf music.

It's very easy these days to record at home, make CD-R's or MP3's and to distribute them through the internet. There are probably more surf bands today than any other time in history. I think overall that's good and bad, and could probably be a whole new topic of discussion. I do think though that the more reviews here, both positive and negative, the better.

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #37 w/17 Song CD

Here's the deal. Surf music is basically a hobbyist genre. Dudes just playing the music in their bedroom for fun or even just dudes playing with their buddies for fun. Sometimes they play shows and have some more fun. Hurrah for fun.

We are on a forum that puts said hobbists side by side to the BEST SURF BANDS IN THE WORLD. We have posters from the Bambi Molesters, Los Twang Marvels and Satan's Pilgrims on here! So if Joe-Schmo surf band expects everyone to gush about their covers of Diamondhead and Penetration, they may need be reminded what they are being compared to.

I'm not sure if my post really makes any sort of sense, I just think because this genre is a hobby and most people aren't in a situation to do all the real 'hard' work of being in a real band (...touring) they still expect recogniton because of the thousands for dollars they've spent on gear and recording.

Science friction burns my fingers.

Last edited: May 22, 2011 12:54:15

Who wants a dishonest review? And the more interesting question is why would he or she want it? What purpose does it serve?

What bugs me is a sloppy or lazy review. For example, a well-known reviewer of surf music reviewed my CD but it was a somewhat nonsensical cut-and-paste job. I take his reviews now with more than just a grain of salt.

SSIV

What bugs me is a sloppy or lazy review. For example, a
well-known reviewer of surf music reviewed my CD but it
was a somewhat nonsensical cut-and-paste job. I take
his reviews now with more than just a grain of salt.

It wasn't me - because you haven't sent me a review copy of your CD yet - lol! If you have any copies left please send one (PM me about getting copies to sell through the DC website too!)

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #37 w/17 Song CD

While not exactly a review (as I had to ask several times for his take) Duke from SurfRock Music really gave me some good advice after hearing our first cd a number of years ago. To spare feelings I won't go into detail but his insight saved me a lot of time and effort trying to figure out some issue with our sound...he also did not want to say anything neg, but that's what I needed to hear to move forward and am grateful for his candor

www.northofmalibu.com

I always felt like this place was very positive because I rarely hear bad things about bands, but it never dawned on me that if you slam an album you hate there's a good chance that the band posts here. That makes a lot of sense, as you're practically telling them to their face.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm anyone worth paying attention to, but when I finally get around to recording I'd like brutal honesty. There's more than enough mediocre surf out there, and I'd rather be told my stuff is uninspired/sloppy/nothing special so I can make something better. I mean it's just a hobby, but at the same time I'd like to not suck at it.

Hot Summer Comes Again!
Let's Go Beach! Let's Go Beach!