Here's another really nice review, this by Gravediggers' Local 16 (who do a great podcast!): http://www.gravediggerslocal.com/2012/07/the-madeira-tribal-fires/

The Madeira, TRIBAL FIRES
Unearthed by Strange Jason on July 9th, 2012

If you’re a fan of surf music, you more than likely already own ‘Tribal Fires’ by The Madeira. It’s forgivable if you don’t, but until you do, you’re going to get a stern look from everyone around you. RIGHTFULLY SO, I might add.

The prevalent theme of ‘travel’ among The Madeira’s oeuvre continues in ‘Tribal Fires.’ Placing the four releases together, a narrative forms of a band of men starting off in an unforgiving desert (‘Sandstorm’) that leads them through a desolate civilization of long ago (‘Ruins’) before night falls (‘Carpe Noctem’). Their journey leads them across a great ocean until they arrive in the deepest jungles of a dark nature, fires guiding their way down the African continent.

Similarly, I think that the members of The Madeira aren’t content with letting the grass grow under their feet musically. There is a noticeable difference between ‘Carpe Noctem’ and ‘Tribal Fires,’ a refinement that is near ungodly. The quality of surf music on this album is unreal. I literally had to stop the player after hearing the opening track ‘Tribal Fury’ so I could think about what I heard. I might be prone to hyperbole but this is honest. I had to stop and think about what I just heard, about the movement of fingers and the arrangement of sounds that happened.

As the name of the group is taken from the Madeira islands, a highly sought surfing location, caught in between the influences of Portugal, Spain and North Africa. I asked Ivan about the name and he spoke about how he identified with “this island that was its own thing, with ties to multiple places but separate.” This makes a whole lot of sense, as the music this group of musicians makes is connected to many sources and yet, they are their own self.

No one is slacking off on this album. Everyone is playing at a level that hadn’t been reached before on prior releases, albums that are by no means of the imagination products of half-hearted work. The guys in the band have been at this for a while and their efforts show, especially in ‘The Expedition’ and in the ‘Pre-Ritual’/’Ritual’ songs towards the end of the album.

The song arrangement is pretty smart, producing not a collection of songs but an overall experience that is lacking in a lot of modern ‘albums.’ After getting whalloped by ‘Tribal Fury,’ the following tracks ‘Cities of Gold’ and ‘Twilight’ allow my brain to return from the edge, as they display the grace of Patrick O’Connor and Ivan Pongracic’s respective guitar playing. Todd Fortier is great with the bass, too. It’s never a non-entity and that’s what is great about a lot of surf music bands. Schlubs (like myself) who only know three notes on the instrument, making us overqualified for most punk bands, can’t hold up towards guys like Fortier. Dane Carter, by the way? The drummer? When he’s fast, he’s a 50mm caliber machine gun. When he’s slow, he’s the heartbeat of the surf against your board. Together, these men have made definitely one of the best albums of the year.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Great review indeed!

One thing I noticed about masterpieces - they have a tendency to appear as if they were meant to impact you personally. Everybody likes them and appreciates them, their excellence is apparent to all, and at the same time, the experience is totally personal.

I, for example, feel like this record is a part of me. So close. Pre/Ritual after many listens still makes my skin crawl. This is a ballsy production that needs to be recognized. The final track gets me too nostalgic. Oh, I've detailed my experience before... I'm sure others feel the same. This is a mastery of emotions, like the great composers of yester decades.

It's a great achievement, to ignite the imagination of so many individuals, and still deliver a unique experience to each.
It says something about the human intent behind the creation, about it's sincerity and of course all this can't be realized without the professional delivery.

This album is at the top of my music library BTW, all songs rated 5 out of 5.
Must have, go buy it now, if you haven't already.

Wow, after that review I feel ashamed that I haven't gotten it yet! I've been woefully behind on several of the newer releases, but I will rectify this post haste

Shawn Martin
http://www.drummerman.net
http://www.youtube.com/GKacedrummerman
http://www.facebook.com/drumuitar

Yes, I admit to not getting Tribal Fires yet, a fact that will be remedied on Friday in San Diego

The Scimitars

By pure coincidence I am listening to Tribal Fires for the first time at this very moment, and I am simply blown away by it. Tribal Fires and Brave New Surf both arrived in the mail yesterday, so I'm having an Ivan kind of day today, I guess. This is really amazing music. To those of you who are waiting, it's definitely worth the wait.

Ralph
The Storm Surfers

Be at one with the universe. If you can't do that, at least be at one with your guitar.

I'm sure Tribal Fire is a great album after hearing some cuts this past weekend. I bought a copy but haven't been able to get it into my CD player as it is currently occupied by a certain Carpe Noctem disc that keeps spinning around and around. I'm really diggin' The Madeira stuff as it brings a lot of different musical elements into the surf guitar vein from progressive to metal.

Now that I've got the CD's ripped to my iPod I think I will do that Noel. Can't wait for the ride home!

I wish that the Madeira could play at Tiki Oasis,
doing the whole tribal fire cd,
Like the Barbwires doing searider this weekend.

maybe we can put a bug in Ottos ear about it.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

The_Schu wrote:

That CD is truely awesome to experience while cruising down PCH. I heard they performed the whole album in at least one Midwest show (Milwaukee?) and that it was killer.

They did, and it was.

Well, thanks so much, everybody! Glad to see the album continues to connect with more people, that's just wonderful! And thanks for letting us know. BTW, we actually played the album in its entirety on two occasions now: at our CD release show in Indy in March, and then in June in Milwaukee (mostly because both the Exotics and us were each playing two sets, so we made one of the sets the new album). I'm not sure it was the right thing to do with a completely new audience, but it went down really well in Indy at least! (And Jeff, yes, do it!) Thanks again, all!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube