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After 2 years THE SULTANS finally follow up their critically overlooked and criminally underappreciated debut (Ghost Ship) with Shipwrecked.

This time around Slasher (aka Speedo on guitar and lead vox) Black Velvet (aka Dean Reis on bass ) and Tony DiPrima (aka Tony DiPrima on drum kit) shed the fuzz in favor for a castrated, white, chiming sound. Shipwrecked is an amalgam of simplistic chord thuggery and late 70's power pop, psuedo sheen. Slasher's quest for innocence finds him right back where he started from, 25 years ago. Like a shark he keeps moving or he will die. Frustrated by the misuse of bedrooms ("they are for love making, not music making" ) computers ("good for email" ) over the counter ephedra ("we only use it to combat writers block" ) and an overall lack of compassion ("why can't we all be acquaintances?" ), he deflates the uber-posturing of the rock myth and reunites with his brother and his yachting friend to get the 'band back together'.

But this time around the scenery has changed. As always, a reactionary knee-jerk is the impetus. This time THE SULTANS decide to keep it weak, naked and malnourished. Distortion is deemed passé. What the people want are Byrdsian guitars played ineptly that shrill and irk their way towards palette cleansing. This is music that longs to be forgotten as THE SULTANS herald unfulfilled prophecy more than true genius itself. Shipwrecked is the music of the layperson. Tragic is the way he/she spills their drink or breaks up with their significant other or crashes their car or gets fired from work or goes another year completely unrecognized as an individual. It is within this microcosm that a universe of inspiration to get back to the basic framework of the pop idiom exists. Where THE SULTANS originally inspired to play Bowling Alleys (Aztec Lanes 2001) High Schools Dances (Alexandria Middle School 2002) and county fairs (Ramona Livestock Festival and Native Pottery Fair 2002) the band has now taken their new found sensibilities and have set their sights higher. 2003 saw the band commanding audiences at Perky's Haven Coffee House and in-store performances at Vidz Movie Rental and Brooklyn Brothers Pizza. Although the band prefers to headline in order to guarantee their 34 minute set is never cut short, opening slots for Zen Guerilla, Swedish black metal band Moonstruck, and Guided By Voices are some recent billings. Slasher explains, " The Guided By Voices show went down terribly. First off, I didn't know they were a Christian group so a lot of what we were doing on stage offended the crowd. Our entire set was met with a complete lack of respect. The crowd insisted on making a horrendous ruckus between every song trying to break our concentration. When Guided By Voices took the stage it was obvious the audience was eating out of their hands. They didn't make a peep the entire show. That's what we are going for." 

Shipwrecked exemplifies being lost at sea here on land amongst millions. The album was recorded similarly to the debut in that decisions were swift and there was no looking back. Where Attention Deficit Disorder is as big of an influence as the sounds of The Nerves(LA), The Kids, Los Mockers, The Testors, The Ramones, Excel(UK) and Dwight Twilley. Basic tracks were recorded one afternoon in the fall, and then mixed two weeks later on a lunch break. The band recorded over pre-used tape from Rocket From The Crypt's Scream Dracula Scream album, thus keeping costs to a minimum. The band is so thrifty in fact, that guitars were borrowed for the recording session as to not expose their own guitar strings to unnecessary wear. The production work of Swasimodo focuses on flat, un-hyped tones with sonic comparisons to demo tapes of whomever from 1979. Tony DiPrima punctuates every non-turn with an underplaying that exudes confidence and a disregard for the unconventional. His straightforward, drum attack is the driving force behind the wall of clang. Black Velvet fills in more than just blanks with his 4-string guitar. Creating melody within simplistic yet classic structure, he gives THE SULTANS the only essence of real muscle. Slasher is as Slasher does. Yet more downstrokes and plaintive howling from this lone toad on the prowl. Together, they are the new quintessential power trio. They all yell and bash in unison, leaning on one another in a delicate yet ramshackle balance. What more really needs to be said, other than they're having fun playing the music that makes them feel alive, if only for 34 minutes.



RELEASES BY: The Sultans


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