REVIEW: The Ziggens, Pomona Lisa (Skunk)
- Bill Holmes
As you might be able to tell from the album title, these guys have a sense of humor. They're also crackerjack musicians and masters of many styles. My first introduction to them was a song from their Chicken Out record called "Goober's Got A Girlfriend"; besides the obvious visual shudder a title like that would generate, the guitarist sound-checked everyone from Led Zeppelin to The Beatles with throwaway fills. On Pomona Lisa, Dick Dale and Brian Wilson get a workout, along with country moaners, tight-bun waitresses and Abe Vigoda, among others (and the Mayberry jokes live on in the booklet's artwork).
Surf punkers at heart, they can keep pace with The Ramones on songs like "Stranded On Clicker Island" and "I Took My Mom To The Prom" ("Didn't have to buy a corsage/the car's parked in the garage"). They even name-check their website in "Surf3", a Jan and Dean style song about waxing up that keyboard. Then there are several reverential surf instrumentals that will make your tiki lamp glow; "Surfin You Say" and "Surfin Buena Park" are tasteful and sincere. But just when you get soft, Dick Dale gets dusted with "Goin Richter" while Rodney King's non-anthem "Can't We All Just Get A Longboard" blasts from the jukebox. Even when writing love songs, they're slabs of twisted poetry and desperate cries for therapy ("Pony Up" and "What To Do" especially).
The Skunk label is most famous for breaking Sublime, and if they could get an overrated stoner band like that onto the radios of America, I would imagine that these twisted wise guys will be a big deal pretty soon. Few bands match irreverence with such talent - The Colorblind James Experience comes to mind - but the Ziggens have the chops to back up their smirks. They must be amazing to witness live.
Elliot Easton (yes, THAT Elliot Easton) produced the record and plays some guitar, and he probably hasn't enjoyed himself this much in a decade. Probably two.
