Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Euro Boys - Long Days Flight Til Tomorrow | The Euro Boys are the alter ego to Kare and the Cavemen. There's no surf here, but this album is mostly instrumental, and very well done. Their sound seems intended for film score, with long sweeping soundscapes that evolve slowly. Their music is often more visual that songs really, yet it can be very satisfying. "Black Fez" is very cool. |
Picks: 99 Degrees, Black Fez, Ambulance Cruiser, Gibraltar
Track by Track Review
Rock (Instrumental)
This is a slow moody piece that's all scene setting. Haunted harmonica and machine percussion, along with trembling guitar and relentless bass cycling. "Deliverance" seems a lot like a well developed programmed sequence with enough variation that it seems human, yet it's relentless nature seems mechanized. It's not a faux track of course, but it's in that general neighborhood structurally. The gentle country air portrayed in the sad sound is very moving. Surely this should find its way into a film.
Rock (Instrumental)
Edgy, fuzzy, yet soulful, like many a psychedelic jam from a bygone era, this song builds on a relentless riff and intense sound for a powerful and compelling experience. As the end approaches, the tape slows to a stop. There's a vocal chorus that appears a few times, but mostly "Filadelfia" is instrumental.
Down the Road of Golden Dust Rock (Instrumental)
The tape winds up and the band gets intense as they launch into a merger between studio session funk go-go and psychedelic jam. "Down the Road of Golden Dust" is very well done, with some very tasteful licks and active panning production. Quite fun.
Combo Go-Go (Instrumental)
"Die Neue Vom Club" is fun and sports a catchy melody line, plus energy and playfulness. Not particularly melodic, but fanciful and unpretentious.
Rock (Instrumental)
"Gallery Oslo" is a light number with shimmering vibe-keys and nifty percussion. It gradually transverses a lonely soundscape. More mood than song, yet hypnotic and gentle with its flute-like keyboard lead.
Rock (Instrumental)
Throbbing tremolo guitar gently warbles in a panoramic circle as "Sex Kabin" opens. Perfectly fit for film, the song needs an image at times, yet is hypnotically satisfying.
Rock (Instrumental)
Like something out of early sixties adult contemporary, this track flows with relaxed energy and mood. It has some power, but is mostly an easy mood, or more correctly, a light hearted mood.
Electric Dandruff Rock (Instrumental)
Psychotropic active panned keys eerily open "Electric Dandruff." Perhaps they are very fitting, and as a film score, would be very effective. The structure is reminiscent of seventies progressive rock, when bands played long flowing pieces with orchestral arrangements, mistaking that for melody and endurance. I didn't find this very interesting.
Rock 'n' Roll Farmacia Rock (Instrumental)
A nifty riff is the basis for this gradually developing song. Mathematically interesting, horn amped, and yet sounding somewhat contrived.
Rock (Instrumental)
You might guess from the title that "In Farfizium" uses Farfisa. This is big, pretentious, grandiose, and just waiting for a roll under film credits.
Rock (Instrumental)
Moody and gentle, "99 Degrees" wanders through dark halls where things are not what they seem. Nicely done, but not very interesting. The chorus adds some psychedelic perspective.
Rock (Instrumental)
Trembling keys, electro effects washing over the track, coastal fog imagery, and a sad but optimistic moody. Like the other tracks here, "Black Fez" evolves very slowly, but there's something here that really caught my ear. I like this a lot.
Rock (Instrumental)
Slightly urgent, with mournful bell-tone keys panning the spectrum, and psychedelic spaghetti edge. "Ambulance Cruiser" builds up energy as it goes. Pretty cool!
Rock (Instrumental)
"Gibraltar" is an easy number with a hip-hop beat to create an industrial gloom under the dawn imagery. This is very pretty.