The Escatones on Artificial Head Records

Paul from The Escatones contacted me recently about a new single these guys just put out on Artificial Head Records. Their second on the label, this three piece from Galveston, TX is back at their dirty surf sound with special guest Paul Leary from the Butthole Surfers. Surfing buttholes with the springy tiki reverb from The Escatones...it's all making sense.

A-Side "Out of Sight" comes out slow with the warmer guitar tones some slow cymbal crashes lead into a slightly faster tempo of their laid back surf sound from the first single. Connor's vocals in a surfy Dead Milkmen style, long sustained strums getting way more into a jangle indie style here. Leaning into the three chord melody their slacker sound mellows out even more into a catatonic surf. A dread influenced creepy tiki sound, played by Zombies... arms falling off, barely holding it together for this ballad sound. They hit that chorus about also being "...Out of Mind and the rest of the guys come in with a beachy harmony. Whoops and yells into the dripping reverb and they've got a repetitive kind of psych-y velvets influence as well... nodding off, until a huge phaser solo goes bouncing around, which must be Paul from the Surfers. The drums start bashing as the thing takes a nosedive into chaos...picking up the pieces they try to get back on the horse, but the beach bonfire is already gotten out of hand. The best thing to do at this point is just leave before things get ugly (er). Pretty epic heights in guitar screwery, one take insanity. As you might expect adding one especially eccentric degenerate to the mix.
B-Side "East Beach Stomp" has a crystal indie reverb sound, this one goes for the heavy melody, drawing on those single note melodies around the link wray scale, even going for the instrumnetal. The guitars almost swapping melodies back and forth, passing the dueling echo sound, a weird homage combination of pop and the updated surf...this one almost works in a experimental indie way...like a reissue on Captured Tracks or something, it might even (gasp) get new wavey for a second? Shows just how much this west coast chorus reverb sound has evolved into DIIV, The Minks and Blouse, this is a more optimistic version of that sullen sound, but a pretty close cousin actually, nothing wrong with an instrumental...and a b-side at that, makes sense.
Get this one from the band direct on their bandcamp page.

The Escatones on Artificial Head Records

Artificial Head the label (without a web site) that put out the Art Institute single is also responsible for this Escatones single that came in the other day. The Escatones are a three piece out of Galveston, TX who are working in a classic surf-psych style...and I know...what does TX know about surf? Well these guys actually have boards and go hit the waves in the gulf...so there.

"In Hiding" on the A-Side gets started with a definite swirling surf combo sound...played with amps made after 1967 they would have you know, a phaser-y chorus guitar and clear electric picking. Connor Purcell has a nasal style almost Michael Stipe vocal that plays right alongside this melody. They don't get total surf, it' more like they're acknowledging this style but updating it into a leaner country rock composite. Definitely sounding a lot like the west, cactus country in a kind of laid back cowboy sound? It's recorded clear as anything, they may be leaning into garage surf, but they certainly got it down to reel to reel with some professionals. They mention on the reverse of the sleeve that there's a version of this track with Greg Ginn soloing all over it? And it was too long for the 7"???!!! I think they're pulling my leg... but it's just plausible enough to hope they actually put that on their full length.

"Down the Drain" on the B-Side was actually written by bassist JT's dad, and passed around to a bunch of different bands before ending up 40 years later on this single, pretty nuts. This time their getting that wet reverb sound on the guitar for the main melody almost sounding a bit like Deadbolt, the greatest Tiki-surf band ever, and The Escatones keeps veering through surf sounds and getting a swirly psych and then back through garage again. Sludging it's way through a dark country sound this time, again I'm just hearing the desert here instead of the ocean. It even goes slightly Painted Black at one point, so tack on 'rock' into this varied mix of '60s sounds (that by now is a 2010's sound let's face it). They keep teasing this hyptnotic melody around and solo it out at the end, real nice.

I appreciate all these liner notes on the back and the insert listing as many drummers as Spinal Tap. I guess that really is a thing. I know they can be hard to find in NY, but everywhere?

This Ed Roth style tiki, hot rod cover in black and white is really the perfect match for this country-surf from Doug MacDonald, who is desinging the new dokken cover!!!
On pristine white heavy vinyl, 300 copies, get it from Art Institute. Message in the gutter.

Check out their tracks via bandcamp: