Search - Madeira :: Sandstorm

Sean B. from BELLINGHAM, WA
Reviewed on 4/27/2007...

The Madeira - Sandstorm CD

It's the debut CD by The Madeira, a new Indianapolis-based combo led by Ivan Pongracic (formerly of The Space Cossacks). If you liked his former band (and who didn't?) you will absolutely flip over his new combo. In some ways this is probably similar to what a 3rd 'Cossacks CD would have sounded like, but he takes this group in directions that perhaps wouldn't have been possible before.

Tracks: Sun & Sand - Sandstorm! - Cordoba - El Caliph - Burning Mirage - Rogue Wave - The Secret Route - Desert Drums - Ricochet - Crescent Moon - Across The Dunes - Express To Baghdad - The Oasis.

Madeira's Sandstorm

Michael F. Riesenman | Springfield, VA USA | 04/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the early 1960's, southern California was taken by storm by a new musical sound, a double-picked, lightning tremelo guitar style unheard of til then. The musician was Dick Dale, and his reverb-drenched playing (known to melt a guitar pick after one tune) fostered a host of imitators like the Chantays, Pyramids, Astronauts, Belairs as well as vocal groups like the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. And so began the first wave of surf music. In the late 1970's and on into the 1980's, the sound was re-introduced by the likes of Jon & the Nightriders, the Wedge, the Malibooz, the Surf Raiders. The surf sound was back, and I was delighted. Then "Pulp Fiction" helped to kick start what many feel is the third wave, when it showcased Mr. Dale's "Miserlou" to many old and young fans. Surf instrumental music is alive and well, and is represented by one of the finer groups currently out there, The Madeira. Having become quite familiar with Ivan Pongracic's quitar playing while with the Space Cossacks, I was quite excited on the pre-publicity surrounding his new band and new release. From the Middle Eastern rhythm of "El Caliph" with its pounding tribal drums to the soft and mysterious "Crescent Moon", from the energy-driven "Sandstorm" to the beautiful and thirst-quenching "Oasis", this release is pure listening pleasure. Yes, surf instrumental music is alive and well, and this is one group that is doing its finest to keep it that way."

The Madeira - surf music reborn!!!

indyindiemusicfan | Indianapolis, IN USA | 02/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Madeira features lead guitarist Ivan Pongracic, formerly of the Space Cossacks, and picks up pretty much where his old band left off, this time with less spacey imagery and more Middle-eastern influence ala Dick Dale.



Make no mistake, this is one of the best surf albums to be released since the early 60's. The playing, songwriting, arrangements, and overall sound of the album are all phenomenally well-executed."