| Surfmania | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Surf rock | |||
| Label | Mesa [1] Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Michael Lindner | |||
| The Aqua Velvets chronology | ||||
| ||||
Surfmania is the second album by the American band the Aqua Velvets, released in 1995. [2] [3] The band supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
The album was recorded at the home studio of bass player Michael Lindner. [5] It was produced by Lindner, who aimed for a smoother instrumental sound. [4] [6] Many of the tracks were inspired by the band's love of garage rock and lounge music. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [6] |
| Oakland Tribune |  [7] |
| Orange County Register | [9] |
Trouser Press thought that "the faux Latin of 'Mexican Rooftop Afternoon', the faux Polynesia of 'Martin Denny, Esq.' and the faux noir of 'Raymond Chandler Evening' continue the winning combination of hot licks and cool irony." [10] Guitar Player wrote that "engaging melodies draw the listener into the Velvets' domain, where the music's buoyant and highly visual nature immediately begins to satiate any hodad cravings for vocal cues." [11] The Richmond Times-Dispatch described the album as "soaked with reverb, slinky guitars, ocean deep-bass and great drum work." [12]
Miami New Times opined that "this is from the more mannered, winking school of retro-surf music, with some nods to the equally mannered school of cocktail-jazz revivalism." [13] The Boston Herald noted that the band "cannily put the 'wet' surf sound of reverb-drenched Fender guitars to diverse uses, including tributes to Led Zeppelin, mystery writer Raymond Chandler and the exotic kitsch of Martin Denny." [14]
AllMusic wrote that the album "finds a timewarped niche in the guitar-rock culture that's right up alongside the master himself, Dick Dale, and the 12 cuts herein find the band members racing through all the intersections on the surf guitar highway, whether it's nodding to Mancini's 'Peter Gunn' theme or shaking a finger in the twitchy vibrato of every fast-gun surf-twang number you've ever heard." [8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surfmania" | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Mexican Rooftop Afternoon" | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Martini Time" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Zamora" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Mastering the Art of Falling Down" | 3:11 |
| 6. | "Martin Denny, Esq." | 4:32 |
| 7. | "Surf Samba" | 3:15 |
| 8. | "A Raymond Chandler Evening" | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Cabaña Del Gringo" | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Hawaiian Blue" | 4:40 |
| 11. | "Green Sunshine" | 6:23 |
| 12. | "Kashmir Sweater" | 3:10 |
| Total length: | 46:41 | |
Surf music is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Aqua Velvets are an American surf rock revival band from San Francisco, California, formed in the 1980s by guitarist Miles Corbin. Rather than simply recreate the vintage 1963 surf sound, Corbin set out to add depth and dimension with original songs that included strings, horns, keyboards, and exotic instruments. The result was a cinematic sound more akin to film composers like Ennio Morricone and John Barry. The group released their debut album in 1992, recorded over a period of several years. This album was recorded in the auto repair shop where bassist Michael Lindner worked. They signed to Atlantic Records in 1995 to release Surfmania; subsequent releases appeared on BMG subsidiary Milan Records. The Velvets continued to release a steady stream of albums through 2015, most notably Tiki Beat (2010) and El Morocco (2015). The Aqua Velvets' songs have been covered by a number of other surf artists. The group performs live mostly on the West Coast.
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