The Ramblin' Ambassadors
"Avanti" CD
Mint
Records
Genres: Southern rock, instrumental guitar rock,
surf revival
Mint Records
PO Box 3613
Vancouver, BC
V6B 2Y6
Canada
Jan 12 - 18 2004 |
Instrumental
guitar rock. What a specialized genre you are. From the
original romps of The Shadows and The Ventures to modern
day revivalists like Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Huevos
Rancheros (the latter of which is also on the Ambassadors'
label, Mint Records), it's been one of the most ignored and overlooked
musical styles of all time, second only to bubblegum pop. Like Huevos Rancheros, the Ambassadors utilize a very
Southern-influenced approach to their songs, but they also add a bit
more surf (Ventures, Chantays) to the mix. The
songs are actually very catchy and immensely listenable, remarkably 'cool' and worthy of a nice, big audience of surf-hooked
hipsters. Take the "Telstar"/"Wipeout"/"Lone
Ranger" hooks of "Hawgtied," for example - it could be Avanti's
best song, and that's saying a lot. "Theme From 'The
Ramblin' Bastards'" and slower number "The Hairless
Cat" are also highlights on this disc; the latter, actually,
touches on Ennio Morricone territory. "Sixty Seconds
to What?" also impresses, dabbling in Western soundtrack
influences (it's a Morricone cover), while "Lungbucket" is pure raunchy fun.
It doesn't matter if you like instrumental rock or not, you gotta
love Avanti.
The Ramblin' Ambassadors are the best thing to happen to
instrumental music since Huevos Rancheros first hit the
scene. Dig it.
86%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 9 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
