Menu
No Fun Records sent me a copy of a Los Kahunas CD. I'm not sure, but I
think the full title is "El fantisco sonido Surf & Hot-Rod de". This
is a very trad looking and sounding band from, of all places,
Argentina. The cover shows them sporting matching blue blazers with a
Danelectro, Mustang Bass, and Jazzmaster. Not only do they look the
part, but they have a very traditional reverb drenched sound with the
occassional foray into fuzz-laden territory.
There are 12 songs on here, and it looks like 8 are originals with 4
covers. The original songs really shine, with great melodies and
memorable guitar parts. The drumming is nice and snazzy. One song, a
sad and plaintive number entitled "Arena Gris" features (I think) a
baritone guitar. Their "Riding with Davie" track is a spirited tribute
to Davie Allan. Very well done. "Hot Line" is an amped up and fuzzed
out cover of the Ventures tune.
The only kind of misses are surprisingly the other covers. There is
simply no point in covering "Burning Rubber" after the Pilgrms nailed
that one. Their version seems a bit off. And their "Midnight Run" just
didn't sit right with me.
These are small points because their original songs are so strong. I
think everyone on this list who likes trad sounding surf should check
them out. This is one of those bands that shows tremendous promise,
and you can't wait to hear what their next CD sounds like.
Links:
I will shortly post a review of another comp from No-Fun called "Waves
of Reverb, Sea of Fuzz", which is actually a split CD from Los Kahunas
and The Invisible Surfers (from Greece).
BN
Oops...actual CD title is "Los fantastico sonido Surf & Hot-Rod de".
BN
And just to follow up...someone asked me how they sound...well, they
don't have a hyper aggressive sound like say, The Nebulas. Some songs
are happy, some are forlorn...most are mid-tempo with nice melodies.
Phil Dirt also has a review.
BN
