Terminal Boredom:
Jacuzzi Boys "Island Avenue" EP
Part of the fun of music fandom and record collecting is when you become enamored with a band or record from the other side of the country (or world) that you know little to nothing about, so your mind is coerced to create these little semi-fictional bios scraped together with whatever nuggets of info can be gleaned from record sleeves/art and any off-hand and most likely untrue word-of-mouth you gather from other like-minded sorts. Jacuzzi Boys fascinate me. They're from Miami. But in my head, they don't seem like Miami...but maybe that's what makes them Miami. My brain conjures up this image of three raggedly haired and dressed locals, who spend the thickly sunned and humid days tending to Southern Florida-style bumpkin tasks: breeding skunks, giving tourists airboat rides on gator farms, perhaps tending to a marijuana crop on the outskirts of the Everglades. That sort of stuff. And then the sun sets and the moon casts a blue pallor across the beaches and a cool breeze blows the tourists off the streets and they turn into the Jacuzzi Boys, conjuring up haunting tunes of driving post-psychedelica that are simply gorgeous. I loved the subterranean magic of their debut platter and this one feels a little less musty and a little more airy. Like, that first record, I pictured them playing in some weirdly lit grotto with watery shadows mottling the walls...this one feels more like they're playing on a dark beach lit by a bonfire while palm trees secretly dance in the shadows. "Island Ave" is all A-Side, a persistent beat carries a restrained performance, musically and vocally, but it's not like they're holding back, they're just that cool, that mellow, that confident in what they're doing. Even when he lets out with a "Woooo!" to punctuate the chorus, it's like fuck, he doesn't have to get all dramatic and belt it out...it's just "wooooo" with barely an exclamation point there, and it's just as enervating, if not more, as any hammy voxxer screaming his guts out. The B-Side is a thing of wonders, two songs that sort of act as one, or at least segue perfectly. "Dream Lion Pt. 1" (and I have no idea where Pt. 2 is) sort of recedes the "Island Ave" tempo back a notch or two, and is, well, dreamy...a quick few lines of lyrics (and I love the little things here, like the way he drags the s out in "ssssssssand") and he lets go with a deadpan "Ohh, get down.." and where any other band hears that phrase, you get a funky breakdown or some bombastic wail...but not the fucking Jacuzzi Boys man, they just let things feedback quietly and drop a few sublimal guitar licks and then the song vanishes. Perfect. Get the fuck down. "You Should Know" kicks in after a brief silence, jangle-fried and as uptempo as these cats go, it's a dancer with strong guitar presence (solo included!) and a rhythm your foot will love. A real classy record that is subtle yet enervating and more than I could ask for in this day and age. A little weird, but a friendly, inviting weird, not an obtuse, you'll-never-get-it weird. After the semi-letdown that split with King Khan was, my hopes are set on stun for the upcoming Florida's Dying LP. One night I listened to this record exclusively for about an hour and a half, and I still love it. Damn. Scum stats: 150 gold editions with different artwork, though I kinda prefer the painting on the regular sleeve. (RK)
The Agit Reader:
Miami's Jacuzzi Boys keep the beach-blanket scene alive, countering the Electric Bunnies' fried future-punk with a hurricance 'n' sweat approximation of Goner garage. "Island Ave." is exaggerated head sways and eyes closed, channeling the Elevators by the pool in reverse— completely built on anthem and surf repetition. It's like they keep on crossing a line in the sand and back again, a loud and confident breeze cool enough to separate them from their obvious bananas-peers. "Dream Lion Pt. I" heartbeats even more in slack and marbled house of the baking sun, complete with a "get down" and red-eyed psych guitar trails. Very righteous.
7Inches:
This is right in line with the spaced out Vivian Girls and The Jesus and Mary Chain cavernous echo sounds that I've been hearing pop up all over lately. But it's maybe even closer traditionally to that kind of 60's garage/surf sound especially on 'Dream Lion'. It sounds the name, this band thing is really a side project for them....after putting in a long day lounging in the jacuzzi.
'Dream Lion' has this slow finger snap, combined with tamborine, high hat bass beat and some far away 'ahhhh' backup vocals. By the end they're all mutated and half feedbacked looped way in the distance...very spooky. The vocals have the right amount of reverb like some kind of classic oldies Ronettes, kind of harmonic girl band phil spectre group, ...it has that level of crisp production and pining over the mix.... there's nothing muddy or unclear about what their trying to get at. Where the Vivian Girls rely on the tempestuous mix of out of control chorus effects, harmony and echo, combining eras...this is a specific year being reinterpreted from a garage in the early 60's, and it's more song centric.
But what do I know about that 60' garage period of music really? I couldn't give you specific names of bands and maybe comparing it to that is complately off base for some people obsessed in that underground. It's my romanticised view of what I imagine was happening....bands in love with that sound, and stripped down rock and roll were hoping to press a 45 and hear it on the radio.
That's what I think is alive here...on 'Island Ave', complete with fuzzed solo. The vocals might have even more reverb because of this tempo, and I love that during the really rocking tracks they go with handclaps instead of the fingersnaps....The vocals aren't ever buried or become so much an overpowering stylistic choice, it's not a yelled freakout, it's pretty deadpan cool 'this is the situation, man'.
'You Should Know' keeps up the dream-rock (dare I say psyche?) groove with more bass...it's something like Deadbolt without the heavy handed horror, just a dead on impression of a scene. You could hear the engines reving, the hot rods drag racing.
It won't be hard for them to keep up on tour with King Khan, and I could see them as a great compliment to their more blue garage sound. They are actually in the Williamsburg soon.....Nov 29th st ye olde Music Hall of Williamsburg with King Khan. My friend Mike (beach house review) has been raving about KK since the beginning of the summer and I have yet to hear their uber-garage blues/make out mahem.
Dusted Magazine:
Jacuzzi Boys
Island Ave. 7" EP
(Hozac)
Dreamy, brooding garage rock from Florida, casting their lot with roughly tuneless vocals but bringing "Island Ave." up on some early Echo & the Bunnymen shit, aware of how hard they can rock but keeping things breezy and direct instead. Only "You Should Know" steps it up a bit, but I like these guys when they're going slower – they seem to have a really good handle on how they want to sound, and it's a welcome model to have around, youthful and cool. 500 copies + 150 gold vinyl editions w/ alternate sleeve art.