I first met Matt of the Tang Soleil in the early 00s. At that time he was the rhythm guitar player of Green Bay, Wisconsin teenage garage/psych/punk band the Mystery Girls. After a few albums and a handful of 7inch singles, the band called it a day and Matt, who was always considered the quiet one in the band (at least until you got to know him), got himself French-Canadian girlfriend, learned the language and made Quebec his new home.
After settling in to his new surroundings he formed the band Tang Soleil. Absorbing the weirdness that happens often on prime Frank Zappa and Snakefinger records, the cinematic (and sometime peculiar) sweetness of Yé-yé pop and, of course, mid 1960s rock-n-roll their recently released debut album for the Dusty Medical label, Outboard Sensory Meridian Response, takes a lot of unexpected twist and turns. The video they made for the album's "Spiral-Horned Merino Wether" fits their whole thing. Is it a mini movie that happens to have a song in it? What does the song have to do with the film? It's a bit head-scratcher but also a bit sublime.
What are you listening to tonight?
