The Vivisectors – S/T

Surf stuff is also usually hit or miss for me, but the Vivisectors put out some solid instrumentals on this disc. They are the only Russian surf band I know of, wait, the only Russian band that I know of! Is there surfing in Russia?? Better bust out that dry suit, Jack! Apparently, these guys recorded this stuff in their home studio, and it sounds surprisingly clean. There’s some good reverb drenched guitars throughout this release, and they venture into the more fuzzed out instrumentals as well. They bill themselves as “psychosurf” from their website, www.thevivisectors.narod.ru/ , and I can see why. I can picture the Creature from the Black Lagoon blasting this on his way inside, hanging ten on a moonlit, midnight swell. And no, the Creature does not pussy foot around on a shortboard! I’m really diggin’ the more fuzzed out instros like “Transylvanian Train”, “Go-Go”, and “Crazyness”. There’s also some barn burnin’ instros like “Cowboy Surfer” and “Mad” that are more psychobilly sounding, but minus the raspy vocals that I usually associate with those types of bands. “Alien in a Government” is my favorite track on here, and I can only bet that President Bush ain’t human…are they speaking of our fearless leader?? Wait a minute, aliens are supposed to be smart. Scratch that last thought.

JG

November 2003
Ocsk8punk zine