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[Given the huge outpouring of interest and heavy discussion following
my first post of new Scandinavian surf music from Saturday, I decided
to finally post part two! I'm sure all of you were waiting with
bated breath!! :) (Yes, I'm being very sarcastic.) Anyway, I do hope
that some of you find this interesting and decide to look into these
bands as a result of my reviews.
You can find Part 1 here:
One note: Too Fast Jim corrected me on my listing of Scandinavian
countries: according to Scandinavians themselves, Denmark IS part of
Scandinavia, while Finland is not! Who knew... However, other
countries think of these things in different ways, and Finland is
considered to be a part of Scandinavia by many others, so I'll just
continue to inlclude it. The better description may in fact
be 'Nordic surf music', but whatever...]
WARNING: LONG!!
Let's move on to Norway. One of my biggest surf music finds of the
last year has been the Beat Tornados. I can't get enough of this
band! Just like Lunatics, their first CD, `Pole Position,' was
decent but not much more than that. A European friend of mine made a
CD-R for me back in '01 and included a few songs from their then-new
release `Mission to Mir'. I liked these quite a bit, and listened to
them often. Earlier last year I started to realize that not only are
these songs good, they are quite remarkable. As a result I sent them
an email and started corresponding with their drummer Morten a couple
of months ago. He was kind enough to send me their most recent
CD `Scandinavian Interlude,' and after MUCH search I was finally able
to track down a copy of `Mission to Mir' (from Spindrift Records). `Mission to Mir' is in my opinion
a masterpiece of modern surf music, and probably the best release in
the genre of the last five years. This four-piece band (two guitars,
bass, drums) is obviously mostly grounded in trad surf music. All
the tones are authentic, relying on Jaguars through reverb units
(with a touch of tape echo for lead guitar) and big, clean Fender
tube amps. The drums also sound very traditional, with a crisp snare
and a lot of jazzy use of the ride cymbal. They are all very capable
players, but unlike the Lunatics, there isn't much showing off of the
chops or breakneck tempos it's all about the song and feel with the
Beat Tornados. And their songs, though trad, are not entirely
beholden to just recreating the structures and melodies of sixties
surf music. That's probably what I love the most about them
they're able to continue the evolution of surf music as though 1965-
2000 never happened. In other words, to my ears their music sounds
like a natural evolution and extension of sixties surf music (though
some modern surf music influences can be glimpsed, too).
It is impossible to list just a few highlights of `Mission to Mir'
every track on the album is a highlight! Honestly, there is not one
weak track. The CD opens with an intergalactic blast of "Nokken
Surfacing". Sounding like a cross between the Ventures' version
of "Penetration" and Los Straitjackets' "Tailspin", it's one of the
most trad songs on the CD, but with a twist: it features a long outro
with heavy Theremin-generated sound effects, giving the song extra
intensity and eeriness. It's followed by the innovative "The
Griegster", which twists a piece by 19th-century Norwegian classical
composer Edward Grieg (best-known probably in our instro circles for
his "Hall of the Mountain King") into a very cool surf tune.
Immediately following is a cover of the Chantays "Continental
Missile", which greatly improves on the original, IMHO! That song,
of course, is itself heavily based on classical music, something by
Brahms, I believe, so there's a nice leitmotif that emerges at the
beginning of the CD. Every song that follows is a classic: the
moody "Late Night at the Tropics Inn, Cal.", which alternates a
sparse verse with an achingly gorgeous chorus; the
playful "Chilifinger" with its fast swing beat; the frenetic "Spy Vs.
Spy" with more Theremin craziness (the song somehow manages to
musically capture the feeling of that great comic!); the looping and
intense "Skulljuice". But just when you think it couldn't get any
better, it does. Remarkably, I think the best six songs on the whole
album are at the very end! "Delfinen" is about as good as a surf
ballad get, and it features one thing that really puts the Beat
Tornados into their own category: the steel guitar. Played very
skillfully by their rhythm guitarist Jorn, it gives "Delfinen" an
ethereal quality and turns this great song into a transcendent one.
The effect is intensely emotional I am moved to tears every time I
hear this song. It is truly incredible. "My Next Girlfriend"
features a happy melody that borrows a little bit from DD's "Taco
Wagon" and then somehow naturally morphs into a dark bridge and an
unsettling outro decorated with more flights of the Theremin,
bringing the song to a climactic conclusion. "Sting!" starts off
with some DD-like low-E riffs and then turns into a dramatic minor-
key, staccato blast of energy, rich in gypsy-tonalities and full of
unexpected turns and twists which never diminish the song's
intensity. The Fender IV would have been quite happy to feature this
song as part of their repertoire! And the rhythm guitar playing in
this song is really great, too, switching from arpeggiated ripples to
harmony and unison lines to full-on strumming to heavily-whammied
ringing chords all within one song! Next is "Tzatzikistan", with a
playful, heavily Russian-sounding melody and arrangement coupled with
a polka-sounding beat, broken up with a very Western sounding melodic
bridge, and then played through conclusion as a call-and-answer
counterpoint and harmony duet between the two guitars. So cool!
This leads to "Aloha From the Crypt", probably the most stunning
version of "Miserlou" that I have ever heard. With gently rolling
toms as the foundation, the song is played at about half the tempo of
DD's version. The lead guitar sounds like the Fender amp is on 11
but played very softly, even lazily, scraping and scratching between
the notes of the melody. In the background the rhythm guitarist, now
again on steel guitar, is gently weaving in and out of the main
melody in a way that sounds positively haunting. Brilliant.
Finally, the title track is a dark, dissonant ride through outer
space with slight Russian influences. The song would comfortably fit
on `Ventures In Space' album, with its Theremin effects and
otherworldly melody and feel. Once the song fades out, there is 10-
minutes of weird noises and spooky sound effects, similar to the
Nebulas `Nebula 1' CD, representing the sound of outer space (if, of
course, you could hear in the outer space) and bringing the album to
an effective ending. One other thing that I should mention about the
CD is the awesome packaging and artwork. It is a carton foldout with
a funny comic-book representation of the band as a tag-team of space
adventurers about to defend their own space station from the
attacking Mir. There is also a funny reference to DD in the
artwork. The CD includes a large foldout insert with a bunch of
photos and lengthy liner notes. I really can't recommend this CD
highly enough. By far the best surf CD of the 21st century.
However, there is a lot more where that came from, judging from the
Beat Tornados third CD, `Scandinavian Interlude.' The title would
seem to imply that the band is taking a short break from surf music
to explore their Scandinavian roots, which does seem to be the case.
It is a more experimental album, but luckily there is still plenty of
surf left. `Scandinavian Interlude' does not reach the lofty heights
of `Mission to Mir', but it comes really damn close, which is near-
miraculous. This is a band on a serious winning streak! The CD
opens with the fantastic "Kreml De La Kreml," sounding like DD in his
full surf mode playing a traditional Russian song! Lots of bassy and
heavily-reverbed Fender lead guitar double-picking coupled with tight
rhythmic dynamics signals unmistakably that the Beat Tornados are
definitely a surf band, and even if they sometimes explore some other
musical forms, as they do on this CD, surf music remains at their
core. Following "Kreml De La Kreml" is probably the most amazing
surf song I have heard in years: "Return of the Griegster". Another
adaptation of a classical piece by Edward Grieg, this song sounds
like an insane surf version of a frightening Merry-Go-Round ride that
simply will not end! The melody just builds and builds in intensity
until it finally sounds like the resolution is near, only to start
back up again - twice! Truly, the four minutes of this song leave me
with goose-bumps and completely exhilarated, grateful for the
eventual resolution while at the same time punching the `track-back'
button for another ride! This is a band in masterful control of
musical dynamics I can't think of another surf band that could pull
this song off as well as the Beat Tornados do. Much of the credit
also goes to their lead guitarist Bjorn who shows off some serious
chops in this song. Though this is probably the peak of the CD,
there is definitely a lot more great stuff that follows. "Mr.
Preslov" is another Russian-surf tune the way that only the Beat
Tornados can do it. It is somewhat similar to "Tsatsikistan"
from `Mission to Mir", with a frenetic pace and great chops exhibited
by both guitarists as well as the bass player Geir. It takes a few
listens to really appreciate, but once you `get it', the song's
harmonic structure and arrangement will blow your mind. "The Girl
From Tuonela" is a beautiful, wistful ballad that definitely seems to
draw more from sixties Euro instrumental music with a melancholy
quality exhibited by much Finnish sixties instro music. Almost as
good as "Delfinen" on `Mission to Mir', and vaguely reminiscent of
the Treble Spankers' "Hasheeda." "Link Pa Svenska" is a traditional
song (Norwegian? Swedish?) done up in a bit of an experimental
fashion, sounding more than a bit like the Mermen, with crunchier
guitar tones and a more modern drumming style. Following that is the
menacing and dramatic "Theme From Pia Zawa", which is as good as spy-
surf gets, as far as I'm concerned (I think the basic melody was
taken from some children's show main theme music, but has been
expanded upon by the band). "Take Five at Number Nine" is a surfy
variation on the famous Dave Brubeck jazz standard "Take Five", and
yes, it is played in that song's 5/4 beat which requires some serious
musical ability! The guys do it very nicely, with beautiful
harmonies and fancy chords and some horns added in for an even
jazzier feel. Following that is the pure energy blast of "Groovus,"
with a big and crunchy lead guitar tone and very aggressive playing,
while still very much retaining the melodic quality. "Aquanaut" is
another gentle, melancholy, vaguely-Russian ballad with drier guitars
and a more Euro-instro sound gorgeous. It benefits mightily from
the background steel guitar, again like "Delfinen". Finally, one of
the highlights of the CD is the closing track "Xtabay" a lengthy mood
piece that's actually a cover of a song by the fifties/sixties
Peruvian virtuoso singer Yma Sumac! What a choice of a song to
cover! There are all sorts of noises and sound-effects in the
background, again making it sound like a long-lost track
from `Ventures in Space'. Very creepy and very beautiful. Finally,
I should again make a note of the CDs artwork which is just as
striking as the one for `Mission to Mir.' They are complete
opposites: where `MtM' was playful, even goofy, `SI' is serious and
melancholy, even austere. It features scenes of (presumably)
Scandinavian snow-covered forests and frozen tundras and ravines, and
is mostly monochrome. The single photo of the band shows them
dressed in heavy coats and wearing Russian-style heavy woolen hats.
This sort of cover artwork, seemingly celebrating the coldness of the
Nordic lands, is a truly bold and courageous choice for a surf band!
But it works. The artwork captures the feel of the music, and even
imbues it with a more mysterious aura. In fact, their version
of "Xtabay," a traditional Peruvian song, strangely enough seems like
a perfect sonic representation of the rugged but beautiful
Scandinavian nature. Truly remarkable stuff.
The Beat Tornados deserve to be better known around the world. They
have the misfortune of coming out of a country to which few people
pay attention, especially when it comes to musical matters, and
ESPECIALLY when it comes to surf music. But these two CDs
demonstrate that they are truly the best of the best in surf music
today, and maybe even ever. My recommendation to all surf music fans
is: get any of their stuff that you can RIGHT NOW! `Scandinavian
Interlude' is still widely available (I think even Amazon carries it
for a reasonable price) so that would be the natural starting point
for those that are interested. I really don't think you'll regret
it. I look greatly forward to their future releases and hope against
hope that at some point I even get to see them live I bet that
would be one amazing show.
[end of part 2]
ipongrac:
Thanks for part 2...an interesting read. I for one really
appreciate your detailed reviews. It's always cool to
learn about new releases, especially ones that otherwise
might remain buried or obscured...
dp
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--- In , DP <noetical1@y...> wrote:
>
> ipongrac:
>
> Thanks for part 2...an interesting read. I for one really
> appreciate your detailed reviews. It's always cool to
> learn about new releases, especially ones that otherwise
> might remain buried or obscured...
>
> dp
I also ditto DP's sentiments, Ivan.
Getting back to part 1: Ivan and I have discussed this before
privately, but it took me a great deal of time to like The
Lunatics "Tour de Monde". It wasn't easy for me. They have a
very "prog" feel to me; at times I thought I was listening to a jazz
combo. The guitar tones are very dry; bone dry. Sometimes a bit too
sterile if you ask me. 'Continental Drift' is probably my favorite
song from that album, it has lots of mood. But I agree about their
chops and playing abilities; they are very impressive! Just don't
expect the Astronauts when you buy it. I'm making this sound worse
than it is though. If you like modern or Euro sounding surf, then
you will probably really dig this album.
I couldn't agree more about The Beat Tornados, though. "Mission To
Mir" is really amazing. I emailed the band and invited them over to
this list. No word on that, but they did send me a 4 track promo
copy of their "Scandanavian Interlude". As Ivan said, this is great
stuff, and I'm also looking to buy the full length version.
BN
