Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!

Undead in the Fallout Shelter (2010)

John Flynn

I saw this band play recently. They burst on stage wearing matching shirts- black with a yellow scorpion silhouette- and black bandanas covering their lower faces. It was visually striking, I'll say. They played a set of surf rock reminiscent of Man or Astroman?, though where the latter band had sci-fi flourishes to their sound, this band had a vibe that reminded me of the soundtrack to a gritty western movie. Which was cool. And so I grabbed one of the free CDs they were offering.

The relatively short album- perhaps more an EP than a full-length- clocks in at 17 minutes for 7 songs, and fully delivers on the excellence of their live show. Like the aforementioned Astromen, they use audio samples to good effect on a few of the tracks. The sound of vultures, I believe, that serves as the intro to the album before "Cateye Glasses," reinforces that Old West feel I got from their live show. There's also a little of a horror element to the samples and the song titles, so maybe a zombie western? This would be a great soundtrack to a black comedy like that. I'd be into it.

The music is overall excellent. Energetic and catchy, definitely indebted to the sorts of acts that came before, from Dick Dale on, but with their own style. All instrumentals, since I guess it's hard to sing through a bandana.

Overall, this is a great collection of songs, and I really hope to hear more from this band in the future. Fans of surf rock will definitely want to keep an eye on these guys, and fans of fun music in general should also give them a listen.

The album is available to stream or as a pay-what-you-want download over at their BandCamp page http://ghostscorpion.bandcamp.com/