tamarron - tamarron

Tamarron

Tamarron
self-released; 2013

3.6 out of 5

By Sean Dennison

Honestly, I never thought anyone liked surf rock this much. I've always equated it with the beginning of rock music's wacky teenage years and figured once I grew out of it, so would everybody else. Thankfully this was not the case. Like a remora riding on a shark, Tamarron has the same type of symbiotic relationship. With the garage rock revival that's been gaining momentum for a good amount of years, the surf sound has been making quite a comeback. Though I don't believe it's strong enough to support its own genre right now (though that begs the question, when was it ever?), a number of popular acts and many more lesser knowns are shading their music with surf. Every now and then you get to hear diehards, as is the case with Tamarron, an Austin, Texas, three-piece that named themselves after a mountain resort in Colorado.

The self-titled EP is four tracks long. So it's a minute into "Saucey" and Chad Doriocourt (this man's music will live on in name if not in sound) starts melting his way into my heart when he starts belting out some seriously Kings of Leon-like vocals. Then the music, mainly surf, but also sort of country and really groovy, starts playing, and the hooks are great and suddenly a surf-rock revival doesn't seem like a bad idea. Doriocourt's vocal range does this wild thing where it goes from Kings of Leon to Coldplay to early U2 but all in the span of half a second. Is that not reason enough to check this out? It's ridiculous but so amusing to listen to. It also gives the band a lot of creative license with shaping the music around Doriocourt. Listen also for the excellent drumming on "U" and the wanton spongebobbery on "Summer.” These guys actually remind me a lot of Human Television. You guys know who they are? I discovered them out of the $1 bin at Amoeba, Hollywood. Anyway, I figured the problem with surf rock was its inherent novelty and its lifespan; the songs can't deviate too far from the north lest they risk wading into separate genre territory. The same is true for Tamarron. There are moments worth listening for, but you've heard one song, you've heard them all. Clearly this is not a bad thing, otherwise I would've said "Tamarron sucks" and left it at that.

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