Pollo Del Mar - Speed Of Dark CD (MuSick)

When Pollo Del Mar releases a new album it’s not just another album release in the surf music world, it’s an event. There aren’t many bands I would say that’s true for - Los Straitjackets, Man Or Astro-Man?, Satan’s Pilgrims, The Madeira and a few others, but Pollo Del Mar are definitely one of them. It’s hard to believe it’s been 18 years since the last PDM full length album, The Golden State, was released. As a whole, the new album is truly epic in scale - to call it a “surf album” doesn’t do it justice. If anything, Frankie & The Pool Boys, or better yet, The Mach IV, are really lead guitarist and songwriter Ferenc Dobronyi’s outlet for surf music. This is instrumental guitar rock, influenced by psychedelic rock, exotica, classic rock, and the melodies and rhythms of the world. Well, yes, there is a bit of reverby surf guitar in there as well. The songwriting and guitar work are so expressive and imaginative that I found myself pressing play on track one, then found myself being taken on a journey before finding that I was  all of a sudden at track ten. What do you do in that case? Play it again! The music on the disc is matched by equally impressive cover art - buy this for the music, but also for the cover art which is more than suitable for hanging on the wall in your favorite room to listen to music. Insect Surfers guitarist David Arnson sums the band and this album up best with the words, “Pollo Del Mar have made origami out of sound.” The CD version includes a cover of the Jeff Beck instrumental classic, "Beck's Bolero"!

Tracks: Speed Of Dark - Inner Sunset - Surfin' With Keith - Wabi Sabi - Pose Of Awareness - The Golden State - Sifaka - Surfacing - San Quixote - Secrets In A Wooden Rose - Beck's Bolero