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I wanted to write a few words about a CD that I don't see mentioned much,
which is too bad. It's the Balboas' "A Little Bit Of Fear". This CD
actually came out in 2000, but I only got my copy a month ago or
so. Well, this thing simply RAWKS!! To sum it up: it's primal and
depraved and beautiful!
The Balboas are quite unique, I think. They're able to tap into that
undefinable spirit or aura of the first wave, while introducing a heavy
dose of modern attitude and irreverance. Maybe the point of reference
would be the Phantom Surfers, but the Balboas are definitely
different. The recording itself is not lo-fi, though their playing
definitely is! The sounds coming from the instruments and trashy and
unrefined and energetic as all hell. Rich Griffith on lead guitar is
probably the only guitarist I know that ACTUALLY turns his reverb up unit
all the way up! Oh yeah, his Dual Showman, too (just check out his
leads if you think that you can't get distortion out of a Dual
Showman). And a Strat plugged into that setup (and double-picked pretty
much continuously) is, as we all know, a pretty dangerous thing. Well,
Rich wields this weapon without much concern for anybody's safety - very
cool, though sooner or later he'll poke somebody's eye out with that. I
think this CD is a big step forward for the band from their first CD, in
terms of playing, tighteness and songs. The band has really
gelled. Everyone in the band sounds really great, with great drumming,
great rhythm guitar work and rock solid bass.
But the best thing about this CD is that it's just damn fun! The songs
that stand out for me are the Italian/Spanish "Pesce Vino", which is just
freakin' awesome: great groove, double-picked lead, melody AND energy,
it's got it all. "Attack of the Fire Ants!" is a high-speed romp very
reminiscent of '60s Dick Dale, full of drama and hairpin turns, and a bit
of that great middle eastern feel - if only DD still sounded like
this! And speaking of DD, the Balboas cover his "Shake And Stomp", but
put their own stamp on it. It's a 'swinging' version - kinda like what
the Ventures did with "Swinging Creeper" - bring it down a notch, and give
it a bit of swing, only to break out into a full-out assault. These three
are my instrumental favorites, but much to my schock, I dig their vocals
just as much. There are four of them (out of fourteen songs total), and I
think three of them are just fantastic. "Santa Cruz", with its refrain of
"Bring on the surf bitch!" is just a pure blast of energy with TONS of
bad-boy attitude. And I guess I'm a 'surf bitch', cause the lyrics at one
point are actually "Ivan Pomegranate is your little love slave"! Well, I
don't REMEMBER having sex with any of them? Maybe I need to talk to them
about this... "Delta Sonic Kiss" (what a great title) is another fast,
punk-like tune with spit-out vocals. Finally, "Undertow" is full of
great, dark dynamics, with a bit of Bo-Diddley-beat, and Deadbolt-like
vocals (doublng of a loose, bassy voice). After a brief drum solo, there
is this great primal scream, and the song goes into full drive again -
gives me the shivers!!
There are many other cool moments on the CD - an imaginative take on the
Original Surfaris' "Bombora", the Eddie-&-The-Showman-like "Thin Run",
which just rolls along, and a great mellow atmosphere of "Driver's Side
Hairbag", which is just dripping with the '60s feel and sound. The
funny thing about that song is its repeating tag line which is a
dead ringer for Pepsi's "for those who think young!" catchphrase - maybe
they could get an endorsement and back Britney in a commercial? Nah,
they'd just abuse the shit out of her. Oh, one more thing - there's even
some disco on there!??!! "Caught Inside" starts off with the best
surf/disco hybrid I ever heard - maybe they should release a full album of
that? Make it their niche? Nah...
Anyway, I can't recommend this album highly enough to trad-lovers and
punk/bad attitude lovers. It's freaking awesome! And I think the band
will be going on their annual tour soon, so... LOCK UP YOUR
DAUGHTERS! And LIVESTOCK!! But first go buy the CD.
Ivan
Thanks for that review Ivan. I picked this up a while back, and I agree with
you, the correct adjective is RAWK!!!! Its surf with a bad attitude and a
raw edge.
BN
