The effect is classic – like the moment in Wizard Of Oz when the picture shifts from black and white to dazzling technicolor – but will also feel exciting because it feels fresh, new and bright. It might seem unlikely, but the way “Call Me Star” begins is a great anti-hook when they hear it, listeners of the right mind and disposition will run headlong toward the strains to find out what they’re missing because it does sound so modest and spare and, when they do catch it, that’s when Robby Stabbler’s drums and Allan Cleave’s keys, violin and bass leap in and suddenly hold listeners transfixed. There, an almost pastoral vibe is the first thing listeners will feel as singer/guitarist Charles Parks stumbles out and slowly whispers “Call me star” modestly over a warm, absent-minded acoustic guitar figure. That spirit of meeting this record and the music on it on its own terms arrives set in stone from the moment “Call Me Star” brings the lights up on the proceedings. Strike three, you’re out – every microtone of music on Dying Surfer Meets His Maker avoids all easy generic qualifiers either you pay attention and really listen, or you will be denied satisfaction.
Finally – if you were of the assumption that you could throw Dying Surfer Meets His Maker on and the music might fade into the background or play as incidental stuff which could be ignored, you’d be wrong again. If all you heard was the group’s name, you might mistake them for that project Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones did together but, again, you could not be further from correct.
If all you saw was the album cover, you could justifiably assume it was the work of a metal or stoner rock band – but you’d be wrong. Above all else, the first thing you need to know about All Them Witches is that nothing is exactly as it seems.
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