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Album Review

El Ray Tick...Tick...Tick...
Heptown

Article written by Ed F
Oct 6, 2004.

Originally inspired by the majesty of the Pacific Ocean, the sound of rolling waves, surf babes, weenie roasts on the beach, hot rod races and the outdoor California lifestyle, the surf guitar genre was a soundtrack to the experience of living in a land of year round sunshine and endless golden beaches. A similar attempt to reflect the seaside lifestyle on our own fair shores inspired Morrissey to pen the utterly harrowing “Everyday is like a Sunday”, which poses the question; what on earth would we expect from a surf guitar band from Denmark?

Denmark’s very own El Ray answer that with their second release on Heptown Records. This is surf guitar but not quite in the vein we might associate with legends such as Dick Dale and The Deltones, The Surfaris or The Ventures. This sounds like music from young gunslingers who have been brought up on a wholesome diet of The Pixies, indie bands and Quentin Tarantino movies, reinterpreting the surf sound for a new generation of people to hang ten, eat Big Kahuna burgers and dream of a land of endless summer.

Imagine a whole record that rocks nearly as hard as “Cecilia Anne“, the stellar opening track to The Pixies’classic Bossa Nova, but with tremolo guitars, catchy instrumental melodies and more reverb than should really be allowed and you have some idea of where these Scandinavian Daddy-Os are coming from. A dash of mariachi and spaghetti western soundtracks have clearly informed the musical palettes of El Ray guitar heroes El Firetone and El Twang, obvious in the dual riffing attack of tunes such as the criminally catchy penultimate track “The Manic Shoplifter”.

Opening tune “Jack the Samurai (defeats all evil)” is one of only a couple of tunes featuring vocals of any kind - a young lady waxing lyrical in Japanese about the prowess of El Ray. By the time “Tick… Tick… Tick…” reaches its end I am sure most people will be agreeing with her.

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