Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Hang-Ten Hangmen - Surf Banned (2010.8.29)
 | The Hang-Ten Hangmen sure write cool instros! Surf Banned (2010.8.29) has four excellent songs played very well. The sound is ambient mono, which limits the power of this fine band. Musically superb! |
Picks: Surf BANNED!, Deadly Summer, SurfBlitz, He Vanished While Surfing
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
A tinny, minute-long faux news announcement of the Canadian Government banning of surf music opens this raver. "Surf BANNED!" is a loud, high energy monster with whammy chords and dark tone. The melody is very good and double picked for power. A splendid song!
Surf (Instrumental)
Stomp-centric and on the ominous side, "Deadly Summer" seems like it would have been written for one of those teen-age beach horror b-movies. There's a soft verse that uses muted notes that's really nice. Fine writing and a solid performance.
Surf (Instrumental)
The main element of the melody riff here is really nice. "SurfBlitz" is a mid tempo song that's really cool. Excellent writing and delivery.
He Vanished While Surfing Surf (Instrumental)
"He Vanished While Surfing" starts with the ocean lapping at the shore as the tremolo guitar rises. It's a slow and moody number with plenty of surf tragedy in its groove. The melody flows very nicely. It's an excellent composition.