The Snails "The Snails" 2012****

Strange, to find an LP by a Greek garage band on a Swedish label in a Dutch record shop. Stranger still the fact that these guys were around in Athens in 2009 (when I "jumped ship" to The Netherlands) and yet I had never heard of them despite being quite fond of the local garage scene. It turns out this album was initially released on CD by the Athenian (super-small, super-focused on garage rock) Action label, and picked up later (2014) by Swedish punk label Beluga Records for a vinyl release. Now, Greece has for some reason a pretty active garage scene. It started in the early 80's with Last Drive who -like most 80's garage rockers- were influenced by the Nuggets/Pebbles compilations as well as then-current bands like Dream Syndicate and The Cramps. But its full flowering came in the 90's and 00's with a bunch of bands that copied the particular Greek 60's garage sound which was more melodic and organ-based taking its cue from The Animals and Zombies. The Snails is one of the few bands taking a different approach: they have a more aggressive sound reminiscent of 80's garage revival bands (The Lyres, Cynics, and their self-confessed favorites, Dead Moon) rather than of the original 60's bands. And while they eschew the obligatory Farfisa they add (at least for this record) a full-time harmonica player, giving an R&B/Beat dimension to their sound. The only other band who did it that comes to mind is The Vietnam Veterans in their debut - songs like "Tramp", "Tide" and the more psychedelic "Dove" could easily have been lifted from that LP. Some of the best harmonica moments are the (initially) mid-tempo "Coffin" and the oriental intro to instrumental "Surfazat", while throughout the whole album it complements the guitar as a second lead instrument. The guitar is as fuzzy and distorted as you'd like it to be for a garage band with some oriental scales giving it a more psychedelic hue. The singer has a punkier, more menacing style than what is customary in 60's garage rock, while special mention must finally be made for the bass player whose nimble and propulsive playing is integral to the band's sound. Some of the more aggressive Cramps-like moments come towards the end of the album: The Mourning Reign cover "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and, especially, band originals "Universal Soldier" and "Pollution". Conversely there are some melodic harmonies on (Ricky Nelson cover) "Gypsy Woman" - with the help of (Athenian garage rockers) Cardinals' singer D. Beleniotis and female R&B singer Angel Lo Verde. The third (and last) cover is garage staple "I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time" getting a muscular, if unspectacular, rendition. Other highlights include the aggressive opener "Sidewalks" and Arabian psychedelia of "Haifa Nights". And let's not forget the cool cover art. All in all it's one of the better (if atypical) efforts coming out of the rich Greek garage scene, fit to stand next to classics by The Last Drive and Sound Explosion. No wonder then that the Swedes picked it up for international release: Swedes know good garage rock when they see it.

**** for Sidewalks, Haifa Nights, Tide, Coffin, Gypsy Woman, Dancing With The Zombies, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Universal Soldier

*** for Dove, I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time, Tramp, Wyld Child, Pollution, Surfazat