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EVAN FOSTER
Instrumentals (MuSick)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Cool surf cats know that Evan Foster is one of the top guitarists of instrumental surf music's 3rd wave, which started in earnest when Pulp Fiction hit theaters and is still going today, though it seems to have shaken out to just the cream of the crop. Boss Martians, Evan's long-time band, are still alive and well and going on a tour of Europe in support of their excellent new album, The Set-Up. Evan also has about 400 other projects going at all times, simply because the guy loves to play. The more things he has going on, the more playing time he gets. Apparently there was a spare day or three in the schedule, because Evan Foster made a solo record. With Dusty Watson (drums) and Nick Contento (organ) on board, Evan (guitar/bass) did himself proud.
The more you know about Evan's musical tastes, the more surprised you'll be that this album isn't a mish-mash of surf, blues, funk, jazz and everything else he could cram onto one CD. No, for this one, he went back to what he's best known for and played instrumentals. Even named the album Instrumentals. It's not all surf, though there are certainly some nasty waves breaking on a handful of these tracks. Some are just rock and roll - hard, loud and proud. "Meanstreak" is an asskicker with thundering bass and drums and hot playing on both rhythm and lead guitar from Evan. It's interesting all the way through. The second track on the album, "Drag The Dragon," could have been its equal but lacked the lead work, leaving it sounding like a damned good start just waiting for the vocal tracks to make it a song. It's the only miscue on the album. The rest is just what you want from an instro album: slammin' ("Where do I stand?"), haunting ("Rattlesnake"), quirky ("Spy On Me"), and as wild and chaotic as riding the best wave of the day at Mavericks ("Surfer's Anthem").
With a guy like Evan, who probably has the majority of input in most of his musical projects, the notion of a "solo album," especially one featuring the only other long-term member of Boss Martians, Nick Contento, may be a little odd. Or maybe the premise is "there are no expectations, no parameters to stay within," other than the one he gave himself, which is that the songs would be instrumentals. Even that one is stretched a bit by the Hesch-like shouts of the title in "I Want Some Sex." Hmmm... Maybe he's just having a lot of fun. That's what I had listening to the CD, anyway.
© 2004 - DJ Johnson