Surf Roots

[coll]: Surf Roots (Resin Music)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 12/24/06
Surf Reggae, mostly from So-Cal. Huge variety of styles – some are really nice (if sometimes a bit on the pop side), some make me wonder if surfer’s brains aren’t a bit waterlogged. I suspect that there are people who enjoy sweet pop and “college radio” stuff that will like the stuff I found nigh-unlistenable, so judge for yourself.
No FCCs detected. Track 15 is best, 1 and 2 are very good.
1. 3:43 ***a bit downtempo, laid back bubble with a bit of swing, Ziggy’s distinctive vocals.
2. 4:12 ***big electric guitars, then very uptempo skank. Nice combo,.
3. 3:03 *folky, breathy vocals and skank unplugged acoustic vibe. Sounds like a banjo – that’s one nice touch.
4. 3:42 **birdsong (?) intro. Cute, happy hip hoppish uptempo skank. Not a bad sound, actually – very nice bass and good beat.
5. 3:39 *uptempo pop-rock skank – can’t really pin down what I’d call this. Lots of electric guitar.
6. 3:36 solo piano, downbeat pop vibe. Folky vocals, strings…
7. 3:37 bangs and sirens, then uptempo hard rock guitar, pop vocals. rather oddly mutates into uptempo skank of sorts.
8. 5:01 acoustic guitar strumming and picking, solo pretty vocals love song… Downtempo bubble actually shows up, but it’s all too pretty…
9. 3:36 *long intro, sort of a midtempo calypso groove with crowd noises and various vocals. a bit on the pop side, but a nice beat.
10. 2:43 **uptempo high energy guitars, uptempo skank with pop vocals – I think they’re tongue in cheek. Nice moments.
11. 4:36 **uptempo dubby bubble/skank. Decent vocals and lyrics, solid music.
12. 3:30 *Motown-ish horn intro, uptempo bubble with modern R&B backing vocals, pop reggae and dancehall lead vocals.
13. 2:37 **midtempo skank, bit of Spanglish vocals.
14. 4:32 long folk-pop intro, downtempo skank with sweet pop love song vocals.
15. 5:46 ****midtempo bubble with uptempo overlaid syncopation, dubby and understated – really nice.