VIBRANTS, THE

Author:  Visitor am 08/03/2010     Evaluation:

You finally realised that life wasn't that bad after all, and to celebrate that you held a party. You have your favourite drink in hand and "Twist Party" by Kaiser George and Los Straitjackets has just finished playing. "What am I going to play next?" you wonder. Don't look any further, I have found the perfect answer for you : The Vibrants.
Their album is the party record you need : half instrumental, half vocal and a good dose of self penned songs for 35 minutes of surf'n'roll.
Fans of twangy guitars and reverb will enjoy their instrumentals, the well-known "Ginchy" (The Ventures) and "Firewater" (the Astronauts), but most of all their originals.
Some are in form of tributes ("Quite A Fireball", the name says it all, and "El Cuatrero" will make you grab a bottle of Tequila if you see what I mean) and the others show the talent of The Vibrant to set an ambiance, which is, in term of instrumental, more important than pure virtuosity (see Link Wray). The Detective is the perfect soundtrack for a film noir, close your eyes and the pictures are pouring in your head.
The vocals track are a bit of fun too. "Twomp" (a mix of Twist and Stomp) will make you dance and shout with the record, "Pretty Girls" originally a Doo Wop is turned into a frat rock/twist and "Snake Eyed Woman" brings a bit of rock'n'roll in the mix. "Don't Stop" is nothing but the fun call and "Dance The Carryface" is a self penned one that wouldn't have been out of place on an early Beach Boys album.
A fun and danceable album that comes in a very nice package too, congratulations to El Toro, they really improved the quality of their cover designs those last few years. Now, please excuse me, my glass is empty and it's time to party&
Fred "Virgil" Turgis
Jumpin from 6 o 6