Fretboard Mojo by The Twang-O-Matics – CD Review by Noel

The Twang-O-Matics …

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… are Nils Tempo on guitar, Mathias Johnsen on drums, Steiner Nilson on Double Bass and Stian Golden on guitar.

Previously members of several Norwegian cult bands, The Twang-O-Matics formed in late 2011, hail from Halden, Norway. They have previously released a 7” EP, Get Hip With… The Twang-O-Matics, and are on three compilations, Jul I Halden 2011 (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) which is a Norwegian Christmas comp, The Continental Magazine #19 (Fez Inferno) and #20 (Test Drive) from Double Crown Records, and Radical Waves (The Chosen One) from Deep Eddy Records.

They say they play loud and frenzied. I say, if you play this record really LOUD you will become frenzied. In a good way. This is music to dance up a storm to. And I like music that makes me want to dance. This does, immediately.

The entire project was recorded by Mathias Johnsen using Pro Tools and produced and mixed by the whole band. Nils plays a Fender Jazzmaster, Fender Telecaster and Dan Electro Baritone on this record running through a BOSS FRV-1 reverb pedal into a Vox AC30. Stian plays a Fender Stratocaster through a BOSS FRV-1 into a Fender Super Reverb. Steinar plays a King Tigerking Double Bass through a Gallien-Kreuger Neo 3x12 cab and Ampeg B5R bass-amp, while Mathias plays DDrum Diode Amber Drums.
How ‘bout that?

I asked about the origin of the music and Nils replied, “Yep, all original tunes. Fez Inferno is written by Stian and myself, Tennessee... by Stian, El Hombre by Stian, Harem Headlock by Mathias and Stian, the rest by me. We share the writing-credits, since we all participate on the arrangement. Its usually like someones has a riff/idea, and then well work on it together.”

There are twelve tunes on Fretboard Mojo. From the first, this isn’t exactly what one might expect. Boss Lady starts with a nice, quick drum beat and heavy reverb on the rhythm guitar that create a driving beat to jump up and dance to. But the lead guitar comes in with searing fuzz. I didn’t expect that. I like that. More than just that, they have created a unique sound that, while incorporating elements that here and there in little or larger ways that remind me of their influences (The Madeira, The Sadies, The Space Cossacks, Dick Dale, Link Wray, Los Straitjackets, Lost Acapulco, Calexico, Los Plantronics and The Beat Tornados) nothing they’ve recorded here sounds like any of them. At least not for more than a measure or two. By the time I think something sounds familiar, they’ve moved on and the feeling is gone, replaced by enjoying something unexpected.

In addition to Boss Lady, other favorites are .. On nuts! Every time I play it, the next tune I hear moves to the top. I love the roaring deep growling glissandos of the guitar in The Ghost. One listen to Fez Inferno and I’m not sure if Los Straitjackets have merged with The Madeira and The Tomorrowmen. It’s that kind of record. How do they combine so many neat themes and styles together into one coherent tune? They’re good. Very good. And so it goes. The Chosen One puts me right into a scene from a Sergio Leone western, but then the beat goes all exotica and I’m smiling because I got taken for a ride again. Fun stuff! And then they go into a set of heavy surf, just long enough to get the listener used to the change, and then back to the cool exotica to finish. All in the same tune. Harlem Headlock is like that too, only it isn’t. It’s got Middle-Eastern, exotica (I think), and some other stuff I’ve lost track of since it started all mixed together in a way that isn’t schizophrenic, just good music.

Then there’s Hombre Sin Calor, another favorite of mine. I finally had to play Dick Dale’s Esperanza to get out of my head the idea that this was just a rewrite. But they seem to have taken a piece of it to create a place to go back to and start over, before taking the music off again into first one direction and then another.

Mixing surf reverb with carefully placed heavy fuzz, and with some very creative writing and performing, they’ve made a record that blends together musical elements of early Surf, Spaghetti-Western, Middle-Eastern, Spy and Exotica. Very cool. Driven hard and well by aggressive drum and bass playing, the music races by.

I’ve played this record a lot; sometimes five or six times in a row, trying to figure out what to write. But also, just because there’s enough variety and interesting elements in the music to make that many listens un-repetitive. I get the feeling though, that no matter how loud I play it at home (I have a very tolerant wife, but you all must have guessed that by now) this is music best heard live and in person. That said, this is a fine record. It holds its’ own among my favorites because it doesn’t sound exactly like any of them, is very well performed and recorded, and because so much of it makes me want to jump up and dance to it.

On SurfGuitar101
http://surfguitar101.com/profile/view/Nilstempo/
http://surfguitar101.com/profile/view/Golden/

On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thetwangomatics

Band Bio
https://www.facebook.com/#!/thetwangomatics/info

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Feb 23, 2013 07:33:23

I totally got so carried away by this music I forgot to add two things to the bottom of the review.

1. About the 7" EP, Get Hip With... The Twango-O-Matics, just buy it. Take my word for it; you'll be glad you did.

2. And the jacket art for Get Hip was done by Fred Lammers, as was The Twang-O-Matics logo.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

I'm also interested in how you used Pro Tools to make a record that sounds this good. Some part of how the music comes across so successfully is the sound of it. It becomes part of the listening experience. I like the sound you achieved. How'd you do that?

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.