Surfbeat Behind The Iron Curtain

There are times when, having hours to spare, you just wander into your local vinyl stockists and just browse through everything in the racks. Then suddenly, something so unusual, unexpected and surprising pops out, and you JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT!

Such was the case with the record above. Let me take you back to the days of the Cold War - the Berlin War, the Eastern Bloc, mutually assured destruction, some fantastic spy novels and films etc. Behind the Iron Curtain the Soviet authorities controlled everything. In this case, this includes which bands could form, what music they could play, and what instruments they could play. That so many surf-beat bands could have been permitted seems incredible, that they made such far-out music is unbelievable.

Lucifer In Coelis by The Slava Kunst Orchestra is the stand out track from this album. A bizarre twist number, featuring many of the contemporary acts from the local scene, including what sounds like an astounding enormous, steam powered distortion fuelled Hammond organ (seemingly called a "Thermus"!)

Dr Frankenstein

Dr Frankenstein are a Portuguese three-piece surf rock band, based around the flamboyant guitar work of André Joaquim. They take their cues from the likes of The Ventures, Link Wray and The Phantom Surfers.

Cat's Eyes is the first track from their album The Cursed Tapes released free on the intertubes, on the netlabel Stealing Orchestra. Whilst the playing is good, the whole production feels just a little too clean and studio bound - perhaps because the drums were re-recorded a couple of years after the guitar and bass. Despite that, this music makes you want to grab some shades and bermuda shorts and impress bikini-clad girls!

Hang nine, dude! Or something...

Click here to download the entire album.