Allah-Las - Tell Me

In a musical age where genre distinctions seem fairly arbitrary, retro 60’s surf rock is often categorised synonymously with 60’s psychedelic rock. Superficially it is easy to make the mistake; both genres are driven by “wet” sounding electric guitars and tend to produce a hypnotic effect on the listener by way of repetition and subtle changes to the instrumentation. However, where psychedelia relies heavily on motifs associated with Eastern exoticism and surrealist lyrical content, surf rock is particularly Californian, with its more parred back, “twangy” sound and undeniable Mexican influences.

On ‘Tell Me’, the Allah-Las infuse their garage rock sound with the more surf rock influences of the 60’s over the course of four tracks. Instead of trying to emulate the effect of mind-blowing psychotropics, the band creates the hazy, dreamy state you would get from falling asleep under a gentle sun. ‘Tell Me’ sounds like something you would expect from the Byrds before they entered their full-blown psychedelic stage.

‘Tell Me (What’s On Your Mind)’ and ‘Catamaran’ sound genuinely authentic and are incredibly evocative of all the images you would imagine of 60’s/70’s surf culture in California. Each note glistens and singer Miles Michaud’s vocals sound appropriately sun scorched (baked?). However it is the instrumental ‘Sacred Sands’ which is the standout as it seems to vividly capture all the things that the band claim inspire them: “Sea, Sun, Sand, and City.” It is like a summer breeze sweeping over a sand dune and it has an oddly painfully nostalgia, even if you’ve never been to California. It’s quite remarkable.

The Allah-Las have said that they don’t aim to completely mimic their influences but they certainly come very close. They’re obviously very well versed in the music of that time and it’s clear that they go to painstaking lengths to capture a lot of that magic. Little wonder then once you take into account that 50’s rock n’ soul revivalist and labelmate, Nick Waterhouse was on production duties on this one. However therein lies the band’s biggest challenge for the future: to avoid merely being an authentic revivalist band and to use just enough of their influences to create truly unique memorable music with longevity.

Overall though, ‘Tell Me’ is an enjoyable EP from a band on one of the most exciting rosters out there at the moment (Innovative Leisure). It wears its influences on its sleeve and delivers what it sets out to. However, knowing how good they are at recreating the magic of old, ‘Tell Me’ whets your appetite for something truly memorable and uh… innovative. We’re certainly rooting for them to do that in the future.