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The Route
66 Killers play dark instrumental surf music. The music of the Route
66 Killers is reminiscent of Dick Dale and the Del Tones, the Ventures
and other instrumental bands of the early 1960s. However the focus
of the band's sound adheres to the darker side of the instrumental
surf genre. Much of the songs are inspired by the campy sci-fi horror
films of the past, lending a vintage horror movie quality to the music.
Read their full biography here Let's get on with the goddamn, - Reviews - You would think any horror surf album would be necessarily campy, but not so on the Route 66 Killers' Murder on Beaver Street, a decidedly dark and creepy collection of melodic reverb laden instrumental tunes. Made up of three faux Russian escaped murderers, the Route 66 Killers demonize the sounds of Dick Dale and add a spaghetti western vibe for that extra effect. Although instrumental, the song titles on this album are telling enough: Ballade of the Headless Horseman, Shallow Grave, The Devil's Martini - something tells you this ain't your grandparents' surf music. Plus, you have to admire any band that can write a beach party ode to The Masque of the Red Death. Even if the Route 66 Killers don't take themselves too seriously, Murder on Beaver Street is as spine-chillingly demented as a surf album gets.
Rue
Morgue Magazine ________________________________________________________________ Even though all of the 16 tracks on this album are original, they sound like they came off a 1960's Dick Dale album. They play surfer music, and that they do well. They also throw in elements of spy music and some flamenco to spice things up a bit. Impact Press - Alex Llama - Fall 2005 ________________________________________________________________
"Route 66 Killers play a unique brand of cautiously optimistic music that occasionally verges on depressing, yet always fascinates and entertains. They write very good instrumentals with solid melodies. They have learned their three R's, playing with restraint, resignation and reverb. Both bands are highly original." "Ballade Of The Headless Horseman" **** This
is a fine instro with a bit of a European flair, or maybe spaghetti
western. Pure surf sound wise, "Ballade Of The Headless Horseman"
is an interesting mid tempo tune with a catchy if slightly gloomy
melody. A bit cowboy, rhythmic and delicate, with glissandoes and
ringing chords. The melody is a bit Spanish, surf rich, and very
effective out front. Slightly sad, cool and restrained. A very nice
track. "Dia de Los Muertos" **** Some
Spanish influences, some classic surfisms, a bit of drama, and a
sense of adventure come together in this instro. Double picked flurries
and castanets. Very cool. "Dia De Los Muertos" ("Day
Of The Dead") has been used for three very different intros,
the other two being from the Civil Tones and the Magnetic IV. "Murder On Beaver Street" **** This
mid tempo track is catchy like Dick Dale's "The Victor"
is, but it's also more melodic and less intense. "Murder On
Beaver Street" is an amazing piece of work, original and intriguing. "The Jabervock" **** Verging
on optimistic, "The Jabervock" is cautious like a rider
on an uncertain swell. Some drama, some guitar interplay (twin leads
in essence), and lots of double picked reverbed coolness. A fine
original track. "Monsterbation" **** A little
like a Mark Brodie song, "Monsterbation" sports an interesting
melody structure and similar restrained optimism. Tribal, a little
dangerous, and rhythmic. Rhythmic and optimistic, delicate and 'verby.
Tribal drums and long shallow whammy chords in the break. "El Conquistador" **** A slowly
evolving melody line and dramatic ringing Spanish chords eventually
give way to faster track with a circular riff and dual guitar lines.
Rich double picking against chords and a thumping beat. This is
not the Chantays' song. "Baba Yaga" **** A mid
tempo song with some chunk and some Spanish adventure. Moody yet
a little forward looking, "Baba Yaga" has a fine melody
line and interesting arrangement. Nice track! "The Mummy's Curse" **** Slow
shimmering vibrato sadly brings the wrapped one back from dust.
A fine Middle eastern melody is double picked delicately in this
moody song. Ringing chords, misty nights, a few Spanish riffs, and
we're back to the oasis. A very cool song! "Ghoul Tango" **** "Ghoul
Tango" is on the sad side, but also has a the sense of pressing
on that so many Eastern European folk melodies have. Resignation
to that inevitable killer wave that's appearing on the horizon outside.
Excellent! "Shallow Grave" **** Moody
and swimming in long whammy chords, "Shallow Grave" also
seems to have a get through it underbelly. The melody line is really
quite good. "Masque Of The Red Death" **** "Masque
Of The Red Death" is like looking a mayhem on the screen -
it's detached from the real horror it portrays. This is a mysterious
and rich surf song with lots of low down notes and unfounded optimism.
"Tale Of The Drunken Prosecutor" **** the introduction
to "Tale Of The Drunken Prospector" is artful feeling
with a moody sadness. The song itself sports a cowboy galloping
rhythm and sadly playful melody. While it's catchy, it's not uplifting,
yet it's not depressing either. "The Bandito" ***** Spanish
Dick Dale runs, a splashy melody, and some heavy double picking
- perhaps the harshest track here. Energy and power, with a fine
melody. "The Bandito" borders on spectacular. "Death, Death, Death" **** This
slow moving surf dirge verges on depressing through long slow stereo
notes in the intro. the song itself is more Spanish and almost bouncy.
A great beat and rhythm runs under a moody and moving melody. "The Devil's Martini" **** "The
Devil's Martini" has a great rhythm and melody. It's delicate
and pretty, yet powerful. Spanish influences, reverb, double picking,
splash chords, and moody tone. Phil Dirt - Reverb Central ________________________________________________________________ The band bio / onesheet says it all, and pretty well on the nose too. Not many other ways to describe this other than dark, instrumental surf inspired by the likes of The Ventures, Dick Dale and other instrosurf bands of the late 1960s. I do have to say that The Route 66 Killers add a little to the sound via horror movie soundtrack elements and even touch of country music and Spanish flamenco. With the new wave of greased-back hair and rolled up sleeves this will win big, maybe even with the vintage car rallies or surf movie conventions. They kind of have a built-in market, but I think much of this is well enough to stand on its own outside of a specific fad of the times. The album title has got to go. "Slit Street", or "T & A Avenue" would have even sounded more mature. Feast of Hate and Fear July 2005 ________________________________________________________________ The Route 66 Killers are a quartet of wodka slurpin’ Russkies who escaped from a Gulag in Siberia by furiously burrowing due south with wooden spoons. Somehow, they managed to end up in the Arizona desert, which must have come as quite a culture shock for ‘em. Probably for the locals, too. As you can imagine, when you mix Russians with the great southwest, it’s only a matter of time before they form a surf band, and here are the creepy-crawly results. The R66 Killahs eschew the endless Count Yorga soundbites and werewolf howls usually littered throughout gimmicky modern horror-surf records, and just let the riffs roll like big, black waves of summertime gloom until you’re half-drowned in the spooky, blood-soaked super-fuzz. Even with the shock-show titles (“Monsturbation”, “Death, Death, Death”, “Ghoul Tango”), there’s a remarkable restraint in these vintage-sounding instrumentals, with just subtle hints of Flamenco guitar or hopped-up ‘billy rhythms to spice the stew. They are also infused with this very strange sort of melancholy, which is entirely the point, but it’s still pretty funny that a buncha phony Russians reusing 40 year old Ventures riffs can evoke more of a somber mood than half those corpse-painted goons in Norway who, after all, have actually KILLED people. The Route 66 Killers may not be the sickest surfers of ‘em all, but they’d sound awesome playing at Davey Allan’s funeral. Sleazegrinder July 2005 ________________________________________________________________ Hmmm...
horror and sci-fi inspired instrumental 60s Surf music... there
seems to be quite a bit of it floating around these days. However,
if it was all this much fun, I wouldn't mind if the upswing in this
genre's output lasted for a long, long time. This is the debut offering
from this Arizona band of murderous ghouls, and it's pretty damn
catchy! It's sort of like the audio answer to the question, "what
would happen if you mashed every cool 60s b-movie into one entity"?
Can't get your head around that? Well, think of it this way... If
you were to take Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, Romero's "Night
of The Living Dead", James Coburn's "Flint" films,
Dean Martin's "Matt Helm" flicks, and Bruce Brown"s
"The Endless Summer" and then throw them all in a blender
with a dash of Flamenco and a pinch o' Country, you'd have the sound
of The Route 66 Killers. Ok, that all might sound a little convoluted,
but what we have here are fifteen (plus one hidden) fun, yet dark
Surf ditties that sway between speedy and mid-paced rhythms. The
whole thing just seems to scream "summer soundtrack" for
all you hipster, martini-drinking zombies out there that like to
hang out at the beach, and maybe catch the occasional wave or two.
This is the sort of sound that would probably give Quentin Tarantino
a 2-day long boner. Cool stuff! Urotsukidoji's Pad June 2005 ________________________________________________________________ From
the bio upon their website, "The music of the Route 66 Killers
is dark instrumental surf. When listened to long enough, the listener/victim
slowly and painfully dies. However, there have been reports of the
deceased coming back from the dead and craving human flesh. Well, that sounds like a good fit with what we dig here at the crypt. I popped in the cd, rolled down the windows, and tore ass through town, It's that sort of joyous delinquency inducing spook-surf that turns feet to lead when you've got a V8 in front and a posi in the back. I can't
really single out one track or another as being better or worse.
They've got the sound down tight, and it's consistent from start
to finish. It's great background while you're working, and you can
listen to it several times through easily before remembering it's
on repeat. Definitely recommend checking this album out. The Fiendish Files of the Black Order June 2005 |
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