Madeira Press, Articles, & Reviews

The good news is that there's a follow-up to The Madeira's excellent album Sandstorm (see Pipeline 71), the bad news is that it's only an EP-length CD. However, it is all of the highest quality and a must for followers of guitarist Ivan Pongracic's great work with both The Space Cossacks and Madeira.

The first two numbers are bona fide surfers, a storm through Dick Dale's '60s vintage The Victor and the similarly fiery third-waver Dilmohammed from Frank Gerritsen's unsung heroes The Treble Spankers. Fine examples both. Things then take a turn for the Spanish with flamenco giant Paco de Lucia's Almoraima from 1976 on which The Madeira take a leaf out of Los Jets' book and turn in a stunninginly intense rock instrumental arrangement. Fabulous stuff. Then there are two very different takes on Surf Coaster Shigeo Naka's Intruder. There's a short (1min 30sec) Spanish-styled acoustic treatment which serves as an intro to a full-on four minute surfed-up version.

There's only one word for this little gem: superb.