STINGRAYS, THE:
Don’t Fear the Reverb: CD
This three-piece instrumental group of sun-lacquered youngsters aurally ride high and impressively swoop through a wave-crashing array of boss surf sounds that tickled my toes and made my stomach all fuzzy and warm inside just like a coconut-flavored Caribbean cocktail. The reverb-drenched ditties contained herein wail, shred, and border on the absolutely phenomenal. Indeed, this is the closest 21st Century semblance to The Ventures and The Chantays that has yet sonically roared outta the salty tempestuous waters of the magnificently grand Pacific. The guitars are frenetic, jittery, spastic, and twangy (soundin’ uncannily like a rabidly crazed orchestra full of tightly wound electric rubberbands bein’ furiously snapped, plucked, and strummed); the bass thunderously rumbles along like a full-force tropical hurricane hellbent on an unrelenting path of catastrophic destruction; the drums crash, bang, and boom with explosive percussive fury like a hailstorm of molten volcanic rocks raining down on the cast-iron deck of a gigantic old weather-beaten oil-tanker. Hot-dog hell yeh, The Stingrays sure know how to musically strut their stuff, and they do it with the utmost of style, energy, and finesse! I’m ecstatic and stoked to the max over this ear-pummeling puppy, and you can damn well bet your newly polished board on it! –Roger Moser Jr. (Slimstyle)