Search - Fathoms :: Overboard

Exquisite Strat-waxed surf reverbia w/ sax-ual implications

10/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This a rocking, beautifully executed refinement of the 60's surf-beat instrumental sound. Overtones of country, ska-beat, gypsy music and jazz-like chordal illumination creep in and bring welcome diversity to the classic wet, wet, wet reverbia and throbbing tremelo shimmer while never losing the heart and soul of the Surf City sound. You'd be hard-pressed to find better surf guitar playing anywhere ....execution, inspiration, sophistication and tone to the bone. The rest of the band is propulsive and tight, the sax counterpoint is "that sound" you've forgotten but recognize when you hear it and the songs have a deliciously dark undertow conjuring up crashing waves on lonely seas. The production is deep, rich and three dimensional. This album exceeds expectations and does not slavishly attempt to recreate the '60's sound but goes beyond it ...and succeeds in terms of originality and creativity ...and just plain good rocking."

Surf-instros with class, style & VARIETY

Henry R. Kujawa | "The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ) | 12/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Frank Blandino's band must be among the top ten of the multitude of surf-instro-exotica-lounge bands out there today. I listen to so much of this stuff lately, and OVERBOARD really stands out among the pack. You've got songs that conjure up the feel of being in (or under) the water ("Race Against Time", "Fathomized"); westerns ("Tracking Bigfoot", "El Toro") bachelor pads ("Hippo Hump") monsters on the beach ("The Haunted Shore") film noir ("Cruisin' The Zone") South American partying ("Turquoise Blue And Primer Gray"). While many "surf" bands try to find their niche, The Fathoms remind me perhaps the most of Los Straitjackets-- these guys can do it ALL!!!I recently got my hands on their previous album, FATHOMLESS, and while I'd recommend finding a copy (not an easy thing) it really showed me how much BETTER these guys have got since then! For more Fathoms, check out ROCK DON'T RUN VOL.1 ("Cerveza On Dee Mesa" & "Rockabilly Surfer"), INSTRUMENTAL FIRE ("Blandingo"), BIKINI WORLD! ("Fathomless") and for songs not found elsewhere, AN EVENING IN NIVRAM: THE MUSIC OF THE SHADOWS ("Man Of Mystery"), THE SPACE COSSACKS / THE FATHOMS Split EP ("Comanche"), and SWINGIN' CREEPERS! A TRIBUTE TO THE VENTURES ("Walk Don't Run"). Also check out VIBRATE WITH... THE CRANK-TONES to hear these same guys doing some of the coolest rockabilly of the past few years!"

Perfectly executed "trad" surf

Henry R. Kujawa | 06/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These guys are extremely talented musicians who clearly "get it" when it comes to reproducing the surf sound... plenty of reverb, and no gimicks. Highly recommend this and their first album "Fathomless"."