I don't know if a lot of you folks use Pandora but I sure do. For those uninitiated into this internet radio genome project, the gist of it is you type in a song or an artist you like and then they'll take over and mix-n-match other artists in the same genre for your listening pleasure. And you can mix-n-match artists, too, and it was while listening to a mash-up of Link Wray, the Reverend Horton Heat and Eddie Angel while working on the latest 3B Theater update when I heard something among the usual thunder and twang that really caught my ear, and my full attention soon followed. Usually, I'm kinda zoned when I listen to Pandora -- unless I hear something sour and "X" it off the play-list, but that wasn't the case this time. Clicking off several windows to get back to the right browser, just as the song finished, I discovered the name of a new favorite band: Daikaiju. As an unabashed fan of surf thrash, lo-fi guitar licks and loungey reverberation, when you combine that with a love of, and draw inspiration from, Godzilla movies, well, you had me at Oh, HELL yeah.
Video courtesy of greatmahoo.
I think a true test of how good a band really is, is if they're better than they're gimmick and Daikaiju answers that question pretty damned fast, if you ask me. Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, the Kabuki masked clan provides "Beautiful radiation of hyper-dimensional springy sound creates divine psychic wind for your special protection." Works for me. Their self-titled album rattles off nicely from track to track, blending several different styles and moods from the throttling Super-X9, to the balls out Sharkakan, to the more serene and psychedelic riffs of Daikaiju Die, and then the album ends all too briefly with a ten minute fusion of stomp and reggae with Farewell to Monster Island. It was the track Son of Daikaiju that first caught my attention online, but the real gem of the album is a trippy little number called The Trouble with those Mothra Girls that cements the group right up there with the likes of Eddie Angel, The Surf-Coasters and Satan's Pilgrims. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go listen to it again.
Daikaiju :: Medium: Tunes :: Album Title: Daikaiju :: Release Date: 2005 :: Label: Reptile Records :: Track Listing: Daikaiju Die!, Attack of the Crabwomen, The Trouble with Those Mothra Girls, Sharkakon, Showdown in Shinjuku, The Daikaiju Who Love Me, Super X-9, Farewell to Monster Island
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