The Strange Boys and Girls Club

The Strange Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 17, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: In the Red Records
• ASIN: B001O8C5DM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,306 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Austin, TX's The Strange Boys evoke a wild-eyed, porcelain-skinned innocence that is capable of summoning the wayward spirit of Brian Jones. The mystery of the South couples with the mastery of rhythm to create a sound completely timeless and familiar, yet absolutely raw and avant-garde. Greg Enlow's syncopated, organ-driven grooves hark back to The Seeds pushing too hard while guitarist Ryan Sambol's voice wavers beyond comparison. Older brother Philip Sambol keeps the pulse with the aptly named Matt Hammer, who unmercifully pounds an old Ludwig set.

The Strange Boys began as a duo (Hammer and the younger Sambol) in 2003. The other two joined in 2005 and the band has been on tour non-stop ever since. Since 2003 the Boys have recorded a wealth of material which was passed around at shows and to friends, but never officially released. In 2007, Dusty Medical Records put out the Nothing EP, and in 2008, In The Red released the Woe Is You and Me single. Now, finally, the band's proper debut album is seeing the light of day. It's easy to imagine The Strange Boys and Girls Club, a sixteen-track beast, blasting out of any stereo system between The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators and Wire's Pink Flag.

The Strange Boys were the backing band for Mighty Hannibal (the '50s R&B recording artist); were main support for Roky Erickson and the Explosives at the Chaos in Tejas festival; have played South by Southwest the last four years, the Fuck Yeah Fest the last three years, and Austin City Limits, Festival in Music Fest Northwest, and Bamalama (all in 2008); shared bills with Daniel Johnston, Black Lips, Reigning Sound, King Khan and BBQ, Jay Reatard, Mika Miko, No Age, and BRMC; have toured with The Black Angels, Fucked Up, The Carrots, and Crystal Antlers; and are about to go on tour with Darker My Love.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blast of Fresh Air, November 20, 2009

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Paul McGrath (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Strange Boys and Girls Club (Audio CD)

Rock and roll is pretty much dead, of course, at least popularity-wise, but my goodness gracious, there remain a few pretty good acts out there and this, by God, is one of them.

Garage rock is what a major internet music service that starts with a P called it. Garage rock? Really? Is that what the Who or the Kinks or the Stones of 1965 were? Boy, you sure could have fooled me. What those bands of that era represented--and what these Strange Boys represent--is pure, unadulterated, blasting, FUN rock and roll. Garage rock indeed. No, there is no Satisfaction or You Really Got Me here, but there are about a dozen songs on this album that could easily have fit on any first-rate British Invasion album of the mid-sixties. And I mean, yes, at least a dozen.

These guys are two guitars, a bass, drums, an occasional harmonica, and a sneering, snarling little malcontent of a singer who comes across amused as much as he is angry. Most of the time he just seems to be perplexed, but who cares? You think people listen to rock and roll because they want social change? Go listen to the Eagles, you little rodent.

Yeah, rock and roll is dead and popular music is godawful but every once in a while a band like this pops up that shows it understands what slashing, blues-based rock is supposed to be, and I for one like it. A lot.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange but very very tasty...!, March 25, 2009

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J. Kooi Jr. "jan k." (groningen, netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Strange Boys and Girls Club (Audio CD)

A record that takes a couple of spins probably to get to you..but when it does.. Great record! Strange Boys sound both like a lot of other bands and like no other band.. Think midtempo Black Lips, Little Red Rooster style Stones, some Howlin' Wolf guitar, some doo woppy atmospheres, some Marc Bolan style vocals. A few songs kinda rock whereas some others are hardly songs at all at first listen. But those guitars swirl and screech and never ever fail to make their point. One of those records that start their life in the wings and then slowly move to the middle of the room and grab everyone's attention..It's also the kinda record that works best as a whole, so don't go picking single songs!

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Sure, but Awesome, December 15, 2010

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DISCover Tunes (Thompsontown, PA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Strange Boys and Girls Club (Audio CD)

I'm not sure what to make of these guys, but it's awesome. Kind of a Bob Dylan doing Indie Pop Rock, but an even more whine in the voice.