The Challengers
Surfbeat

THE REVIEW

There are records you play and you don't know why. Well, this is not one of them. You can only have one reason to put "Surfbeat" by The Challengers into the player: to catch your breath.

It's winter and it's raining outside, all you want is to drown between the sheets. All you want is not to be there. And this is where our friends from Los Angeles come into play. The gray gives way to blue. Color of the sky, color of the sea. And white shades, the foam of the waves, the clouds.

The reverb of the guitars is the scream you want to shout at the sky, the beat drags on. Rock & Roll in its primordial form. Instruments and nothing else. Space is left for the flow of cerebral waves. And The Challengers do it with the eloquence of those who do not need long speeches. It comes straight; it is playful, uniquely playful. And so whether it's called "Ramrod" or "Mr.Moto", whether it’s "Surfin' Safari" (remember the Beach Boys?) or "Miserlou" it doesn’t really matter. Everything is much calmer, but after all, it was 1963; layers and experiments are still far away. And so I will continue to play it, not asking it for anything. Just half an hour of peace.

Tell me it's little, tell me it's frivolous. I know. If I play this album, there's a reason.