Bob Urh And The Bare Bones have released the sort of album that creeps up on you, bit by bit and catches you unaware. In the end you find yourself listening over and over to catch all the nuances. The band has an immediately identifiable style, yet no two songs on the album are alike. The overall style is skeletal in the sense that notes stand on their own; there is no clutter. Songs are sometimes feral, sometimes mysterious, always beautifully structured. Ry Cooder's country inflected blues style seems to have influenced the band, as has The Velvert Underground, perhaps Willy DeVille, and certainly The Stones.
As expected, I have got very good responses from my listeners whenever I've played the album on my shows. Barb Wire WLUW 88.7 Chicago
Another name that springs to mind is Howe Gelb. Had he spent his childhood in a basement instead of a barn he’d probably sound just like Bob Urh. Or if Lux Interior had spent his formative years in the streets instead of home watching cartoons The Cramps might sound just like The Bare Bones (…) Somebody should send a copy of this to Jon Spencer. And Jack White too (…). EMDS Rockzine
Psycho garage is
what he calls his music himself, but I rather have the feeling the devil took
possession of him. I refer to Jeffrey Lee Pierce, or Robert Johnson, and the
connoisseur needn’t know more. reviewed by Ewie
for FileUnder (translated excerpt)
The Moe Greene Specials play a seriously moody and dramatic form of spaghetti western, with multiple guitars that create a thick wash of sound, and bass and drums, and accompanied by horns that add to the Morricone experience. This album is really fit for a film score. Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
It’s certainly the best spaghetti western album that Enrio Morricone never made and, to my ears at least, better than any of the albums he did make. This is because it is intended for listening to rather than as an accompaniment to pictures. If you have any spagwest albums you certainly need this one too. If you ever fancied trying one and weren’t sure where to start, then this is the place. Ok hombre? Alan Taylor – Pipeline: The Rock Instrumental magazine (U.K)
Some records do what they have to do without getting noticed straight away. ‘Nervous Breakdown’ by The Firewalkers is such an album. This French quartet adopts the Green Hornet-formula and adds a bass player. Organ fuelled garage-punk to dance to! About 90% of all other releases in the genre can’t compete with Nervous Breakdown! The Firewalkers’ mission is a successful one. reviewed by Martijn ter Haar for KindaMuzik (translated excerpt)
All I can say is, it's about time! The Insect Surfers have been around since '79. In al that time, they have recorded some of the most adventurous and magnificent surf instros around. Finally, Green Cookie assembles a best-of spanning the entire 25 years. Utterly wonderful! It’s about time! Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
Instrumental madness from Finland. Fun, funky, weird, and drunkenly eclectic. The fantasy of a dance party DJ familiar with everything from Dave "Baby" Cortez to Iggy to Manu Dibango damn near gets realized here. The First Church Of Holy Rock’N’Roll (USA)
If you took the soul of the Stax label, say Otis Redding, and swirled it in a blender with garage hypnotica, then crushed the resulting pulp with big drums and garage fuzz, you'd be close to the sound of this.
Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
If a rock n’ roll album review features the term "seven minute instrumental," it’s usually found alongside words like "jazz fusion" or "Phish." But not this time. Finland’s The Mutants use thick percussion and elements of funk to update the sound of traditional instrumental rock. The Mutant’s highly original sound challenges the unwritten rules of instrumental rock by disregarding the 3 minute time frame and the strict rules of instrumentation. Deathrace 3000 is an enjoyable album that proves that you can push the boundaries of instrumental rock without being a pretentious jam band. Deadbeat magazine (Denmark)
The Surfacers play with confidence and they are obviously not afraid to try new things. The songs each incorporate some dynamic changes that are very interesting. I like the reverb and the staccato picking, too. All of the songs are distinctive and are really good. Tom Hinders Tsunami Soul WOBC 91.5 FM
Seven noteworthy surf instros and five vocals live in peace and harmony on the new Star And Key Of The Indian Ocean CD. But seriously, folks, this is yet another fine release from one of surfdom's more original bands. Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
Speedball Jr. play with unending intensity and volume. They are louder and harsher than Dick Dale these days. This is not your father's surf. For The Broad Minded is a complete energy drain. You may not be able to take it all the way through in one sitting. Aggressive, intense, and way over the top! Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
This is a totally solid retrospective of this fine band, with the added bonus of a number of newly released tracks added for good measure. Recommended, this CD has a large volume of great tracks. Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
Lively guitars, in the surf mould from I Fantomatici, on a whole series of nicely crafted original instrumentals. The sound is clean sixties guitars, but with enough twang to entertain today's listeners. There's a lot of energy and enthusiasm from the boys and we enjoyed it a lot! Davy Peckett, New Gandy Dancer magazine (U.K)
Spaghetti Surf represents a significant step forward for I Fantomatici. As they mature, their arrangements get stronger and the blend of spaghetti western and surf becomes more original. Great CD. Phil Dirt – Reverb Central (USA)
WOW! Sounding like they could've been on Andrew Oldham's great Immediate label back in the late 60's, this is top notch guitar and Hammond fueled Mod/garage pop rock outta France! The band formed in 1995 out of the gathering of musicians coming from various garage bands (among which Stinky Spider) and have reached their present state after the arrival of two new recruits, François and Xavier (ex-Looneys), a buoyant organist and jumpy performer on stage. The sound of the band was then deeply modified with the organ flying high over the beats. On this 12-tracker, they dish out nine tasty originals along with blistering covers of "She's Not There" by The Zombies, "Brainwashed" by The Kinks, and "Mrs. Applegate" by The Apemen! Originals like "Silly Thing" start out all Kink-ish, then go into a Yardbirds-like "rave up"! "Book Of Yours" is very Who-like! "Mr. mac Bee" makes great use of the "Taxman" (Beatles)/"Start" (The Jam") trademark riffs combined with an original twist all their own! They expertly display Freak Beat, elegant ties, vocal harmonies, Vespa scooters and British beats all at once in one extremely tight bundle! These guys will appeal "immediate"ly (no pun intended) to fans of The Prisoners, The Kinks, The Who, The Small Faces, The Green Circles and great organ-laced garage pop in general! Can't say enough about this one! GREAT!! KoolKatMusic
HELLo from Greece!
We are Green Cookie records, an indie record label! We release instro-surf, garage-punk, rock 'n' roll and everything in between that is really cool......!!!!
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The Moe Greene Specials have their track "Maplewood Drive" from their s/t CD on Green Cookie records, on the trailer of Scott Beck & Bryan Wood’s new movie "The Bride Wore Blood".
About the movie:
The Bride Wore Blood draws inspiration from the Italian and American Westerns of the 20th century.
The story opens as The Hired Gun (Travis Shepherd), a bounty killer, is enlisted to protect The Bride (Christy Sullivan). He has one objective: protect her at all costs. The assignment takes a drastic turn when The Bride vanishes -- and her body appears in an abandoned train yard.
The Hired Gun must find the killer and avenge her murder. However, as he embarks on his new mission, he soon discovers The Bride's true past. Suddenly, The Hired Gun finds himself trapped in a place where death is a currency and justice is a thing of the past.
