Here's Plato Zorba's Stuff

Security Breach at the Beach

This past fall, Asbury Park cinematic, surf noir band, Plato Zorba, released the four-song Security Breach at the Beach to digital outlets. On May 26th, the band will celebrate the physical release of the EP -- as well as the unofficial start of summer -- at Wonder Bar. They'll be joining Igor & Red Elvises and The Brigantines for a Summer Kickoff Party.

Security Breach at the Beach combines guitar-centric surf and spy rock with a healthy dose of horns and keys. It opens with an instrumental cover of John Barry's "Beat Girl." The song's dark mystery and retro vibe are a good set up for the rest of the EP. The danceable "Lunch Battle" melds Robbie Butkowski's surfy guitar with some jazz-inspired organ from Ryan Gregg and sax from Chris Fitzgerald to show why Plato Zorba have a lot more going on than your run-of-the-mill surf band. Things even get kind of lounge-y on the title track. It's the background music at the kind of lounge where people are wearing dark sunglasses even with all the lights turned low.

Security Breach at the Beach is available now via Hi-Tide Recordings from wherever you like to get your digital music fix. Physical copies will be on sale at Wonder Bar for the Hi-Tide Recordings Summer Kickoff on Saturday, May 26th.

New Notable New Jersey Releases from Wetbrain, Julian Fulton, and Black Flamingos

Black Flamingos celebrated the release of Neon Boneyard at Jack's Music this past weekend.

New Stuff

So, I'm like some weekly book review site now with a "New & Notable" section. Not really, as this isn't likely any kind of regular section, and it's really just about me catching up on stuff that I've been meaning to mention to you for a while.

Wetbrain, A Certain Light

Former Dentist rhythm section, Rudy Meier and Nick Kaelblein, have struck out on their own with Wetbrain. Early this year, Wetbrain released their first LP in the form of A Certain Light. The album is 10 (well, 11) tracks that veer off into experimental indie rock.

Opener "Walk It Off" displays some of the left-field guitar sounds of early Modest Mouse. "Pirouette" is proggy, jazzy. "Sewage" comes with a rougher edge as Meier sounds like the mundane everyday is pushing him to the limits of sanity. The title track is a quiet and atmospheric take on lost innocence. Closer "Wise Up" has a little of that Modest Mouse feel again and also contains hidden track "Asshole," which is as bitter as the title would suggest.

A Certain Light is varied and, at times, even weird; but that's its charm. It's available now over at Wetbrain's Bandcamp page.



Julian Fulton, Battered Receptions

Julian Fulton has been a fixture on the New Jersey music scene -- both as a solo artist and with his band The Zombie Gospel -- since he was 17 years old. His latest release, Battered Receptions, is a solo effort that he worked on while members of The Zombie Gospel were otherwise engaged.

The 5-song EP ranges from the catchy, Dirty Projectors-esque pop rock of "Rosie's Disposition" to the bluesy psychedelia of "Howl" to the prog rock of "For You." Fulton shows an amazing range of musicianship and songwriting talent over a relatively small selection of songs.

Battered Receptions is available over at Julian Fulton's Bandcamp page.



Black Flamingos, Neon Boneyard

Instrumental surf power trio Black Flamingos just released their first full-length last Friday. Neon Boneyard finds the band adding horns and keys to their arsenal, and the result is going to make you want to go out and buy a 60s convertible muscle car.

The album opens cinematically with "The Gurch," a horn section adding drama to Robert Butkowski's guitar. "Linty Dock" has always been a favorite of mine from Black Flamingos' live shows, and it sounds great here -- especially the little bit of guitar dirt that gets thrown in towards the end. There are covers of a couple of classics like "Theme from The Traitors" and "The Unknown Rider." I'd say something cliché here like, "Just in time for summer...," but this isn't just a summer album. It conjures as many images of cars, motorcycles, and leather jackets as it does of surfboards and Hawaiian shirts.

Neon Boneyard is a joint release between Little Dickman Records and Hi-Tide Recordings. You can get it at The Black Flamingos Bandcamp page or over in the Little Dickman store.