Sun And Sail Club - Shipwrecked (Album Review)

Release Date: October 18th 2024. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Shipwrecked  - Track Listing:

1.Just Friends

2.Halcyon 

3.Torture Garden

4.Tumble

5.Vector

6.Bird Strike

7.The Color Of War

8.Drag The River

9.District 19

10.Tastes Like Blood

11.Days Of Wine And Roses

Members

Scott Reeder (FU MANCHU/SMILE) on Drums

Scott Reeder (KYUSS/THE OBSESSED/FIREBALL MINISTRY) on Bass

Bob Balch (FU MANCHU/SLOWER/BIG SCENIC NOWHERE/YAWNING BALCH) on Guitar

Tony Adolescent (THE ADOLESCENTS) on vocals.

Review

Sun And Sail Club return to the Stoner Rock shores after a nine year absence with their new album Shipwrecked and like its predecessors, the album is a fast-paced, turbo-charged and mightily aggressive affair. The sound veers into different directions with vast amounts of Stoner, Sludge, Fuzz, Punk and Psychedelic sounds with the band even allowing a subtle Jazz Rock attitude appearing on the album.

There’s a Hardcore Punk vibe which isn’t surprising with Punk Rock legend Tony Adolescent of The Adolescents leading the vocal charge. Other members of the band are from the Stoner Rock/Metal fraternity and the music is hap-hazard style of distorted elements of Stoner Metal and Fuzz Rock with a Progressive leaning attitude forming within the sublime tracks of Halcyon, Torture Garden and Tumble.

This is perhaps some of the heaviest sounds that Scott, Scott, Bob and Tony have put down on record of their respective legendary careers. Some folks may not enjoy the fucked off attitude that Sun And Sail Club explore and brilliantly perform throughout the whole record. There are moments on the album where the band play a Progressive Sludge Rock sound that reminds me of Mastodon and Torche in places but with a distorted Punk/Stoner Rock edge.

The music is always catchy and brilliantly melodic despite the weird delivery and timeframes the music goes through. Shipwrecked is quite a short record running around twenty three minutes in length but it’s never boring and everything is thrown at you even if it’s from over a hundred different directions. The Punk Rock vibe becomes more stronger as the record reaches its natural conclusion but with an aggressive burst of Stoner Metal energy. 

The lyrics are always a genuine highlight and keeps up with that rebellious attitude that dominated their previous albums. Other great tracks to check out are. The Color Of War, Drag The River, District 19 and Tastes Like Blood which has a RED FANG-esque delivery but with more added bite especially when the music becomes heavier, seedier and even thrash based along the way.

Shipwrecked may have been nine years in the making but it’s been well worth the wait with Sun And Sail Club delivering their most deliciously entertaining and brilliantly outlandish record to date.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Shipwrecked will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Friday 18th October 2024.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

SUN AND SAIL CLUB (w/ The Adolescents, Fu Manchu, Fireball Ministry members) share new track off upcoming album "Shipwrecked" on Heavy Psych Sounds.

US heavy punk supergroup SUN & SAIL CLUB (with members of The Adolescents, Fu Manchu and Fireball Ministry) present the second track taken from their anticipated new album "Shipwrecked", to be released this October 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds. Put the pedal to the metal with "Tumble"!

After a nine year hiatus, SUN & SAIL CLUB are back and they’ve come back swinging! The band is Scott Reeder (Fu Manchu, Smile) on drums, Scott Reeder (ex-Kyuss and The Obsessed, Fireball Ministry) on bass, Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, Big Scenic Nowhere) on guitar and Tony Adolescent (The Adolescents) on vocals, with a guest appearance from Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere) on synths.

Stream Sun And Sail Club's new punk banger "Tumble" + check out their previous single "Halcyon"

About the song, guitarist Bob Balch says: “Tumble was written with a jazz scale in mind. It’s based on a jazz minor mode named “Super Locrian” but played in fourths. Dork fest! I was studying that style of playing because of a jazz guitar player named Sid Jacobs. When I was playing through the chords he uses I thought to myself “this sounds like something Voivod would use”, so a song came out of that. There are two Tony’s and two Scott’s on this track. Tony Adolescent killed it on vocals and Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere) added some prog synth. Scott Reeder (Kyuss) added low end madness and Scott Reeder (Fu Manchu) provided the beats. I think this is a good song to check out if you wanna see what the album is all about. Frantic but grounded by songwriting."

Their first album in nearly a decade is more aggressive than the previous two records as if that was even possible. "Shipwrecked" proceeds to rip your face off from start to finish. Fully realized and to the point. Fast and dissonant. A rhapsodic, fun and punishing heavy-punk charge which the power foursome describes as their strongest album yet!

SUN AND SAIL CLUB "Shipwrecked" - Out October 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds (LP/CD/digital)

SUN & SAIL CLUB is Bob Balch of Fu Manchu (guitar/vocoder/vocals), Scott Thomas Reeder of Kyuss / The Obsessed (production, bass) and Fu Manchu drummer Scott Reeder. The band's debut album "Mannequin" was released in the spring of 2014. The band would recruit Tony Adolescent of legendary punk rock band The Adolescents for the follow-up album "The Great White Dope", released in July 2015. Together these three musicians, heralded in their own right for spending the past few decades writing albums that would turn the world of hard rock and metal on its head, have united to create one of the most groundbreaking and arguably most pummeling and original albums the world has ever known.

About the new album, Bob Balch says: “This album is a compilation of riffs collected over a nine year period. Most of the songs were written last year but some of them have been floating around for a while. There is a general sense of unease throughout. I wanted to make an album that went one step further than “The Great White Dope.” The songs are faster and more intense at times. It’s basically the soundtrack of me beating the shit out of my guitar. Then you factor in Scott Reeder on drums, Scott Reeder on bass and Tony Adolescent on vocals and you’ve got something more than I could have imagined by myself. This album is raw and pummeling. If you’re a glutton for punishment this might be your desert Island record.”

"Shipwrecked" was recorded at Jim Monroe’s The Racket Room, Casa De Balch, and Scott Reeder’s The Sanctuary. Mixed by Jim Monroe and mastered by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Recording Co. The band is also set to reissue their first two records "Mannequin" and "The Great White Dope" on October 25th, with preorders available at this location.

SUN AND SAIL CLUB is

Tony Adolescent - vocals
Bob Balch - guitar, vocoder, vocals
Scott Thomas Reeder - bass, production
Scott Reeder - drums

SUN AND SAIL CLUB links

Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram ⎜ Spotify

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links

Website ⎜ Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram ⎜ Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.