By Keith Walsh
Formed by three psychology grad students in the 90s after a chance meeting with surf guitar legend Dick Dale, The Balboas dirty up the surf rock genre with boisterous punk forms. With The Pandemic Singles, a high energy album crackling with a hybrid of aggressive punk and surf guitar textures, the five-piece band emerges from quarantine with drums pounding and guitars blazing. The ten-track set is a star-studded affair. In addition to Jimmy Dale on occasional drums and guitar, Dusty Watson on drums, and Dave Wronski also on guitar, The Pandemic Singles has cameos by Mike Palm (Agent Orange), East Bay Ray (Dead Kennedys), Dez Cadena (Black Flag, Misfits), Rick Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death) and Kitten Kuroi (Billy Idol). The album is produced by Paul Roessler (Screamers and 45 Grave) and released on Burn ‘N Surf Records.
Vocalist Mark Healy, rhythm guitarist Rick Frei and lead guitarist Rich Griffith – all three PhDs and professors of organizational psychology, formed The Balboas in the 90s after Dick Dale pulled over to help them fix their broken-down car. As Griffith told me, “that was the exact point that I said ‘it’s time. It’s time to become a surf band now. That’s a sign from God.’” The trio quickly recruited Caitie O’Shea on bass, and not long after, Dusty Watson on drums. (My complete interview with Griffith is at PopularCultureBeat.com).
Emerging from the lockdowns of 2020 through 2022, The Pandemic Singles is loaded with the defiant and strange powers of creativity amid anxiety and uncertainty. As Griffith explained, nine out of the ten songs on The Pandemic Singles were recorded when physical lockdowns made in-person collaborations impossible. As the members of The Balboas live in five separate U.S. states, the members passed the recordings around to each other electronically.
The first track, “Insanity Pepper” bears traces of a planned spy concept EP that was abandoned when the COVID pandemic hit. It’s wild and dangerous, featuring Mike Palm and Paul Roessler. Griffith’s mutated surf guitar style dirties up the twangy resonance of the traditional style of surf guitar, infusing it with complex distortions. In our interview, Griffith shared that a 1963 Fender Reverb unit (the old style with springs) is at the heart of his sound, along with guitars ranging from a Dan Electro to his favorite Fender Jaguar created by Wronski at the Fender Custom shop. For amps he uses a Fender Dual Showman or a VibraSonic.
“Dead In One Hour” is more of a driving punk tune with those reverberating guitar lines pulling it into the 1960s. It features East Bay Ray on guitar. “Bad Penny” is a trashy cover of the 1987 tune by Big Black. “Karrot Water Mind Kontrol” is another song created for the scuttled spy theme EP. Healy’s vocals are nearly whispered, over the catchy beat, twangy guitars and psychedelic electronics. It’s an earworm, resounding with thematic darkness and mysterious sonic shadings.
“Never Stay Dead” features Dez Cadena from Black Flag, in a song that emerged from a phone conversation between bassist Caitie O’Shea and Rich Griffith, when they were discussing his medical scare that led to a near death experience. “Forbidden Zone” starts off with a film quote about a groping ape in a tune that’s very close melodically to traditional surf music with some guitar darkness going on.
“Agent From WRONSKI” features the guitar work of Dave Wronski, an artist known for his work with Jon & The Nightriders and Slacktone. Then comes “Impaler” and “Penetration,” which along with “Forbidden Zone” comprise three tunes suggesting a kind of morality around romantic relationships. “Penetration” features remarkable surf guitar soloing by Jimmy Dale that bears the imprint of his dad’s work. The album’s closer “Angel Lust” was recorded in a studio in Los Angeles, the only song on The Pandemic Singles captured at an actual studio. Sultry background vocals by Kitten Kuroi add an exciting element to this song of forbidden passion. It’s a satisfying climax to an album bursting with the powerful, anxious energies experienced in strange times.
‘The Pandemic Singles’ on Bandcamp
The Balboas dot com
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