The adventures of Octopus Jones continue with the El Guapo Sessions due out Friday and the lead single “Fresh Shirley” heard here. Named for the studio where they recorded in Winston Salem, the El Guapo Sessions capture the nuances of Octopus Jones live sound. Recorded live and direct to tape at ¡El Guapo! Recorders the process brings more life and yes, warmth to Octopus Jones’ recordings than we’ve heard on past records. Over the years the band’s sound has slightly changed with its members, making this album possibly the truest form of Octopus Jones as its recorded with the core trio made up of frontman Danny Martin, bassists Clay Carlisle and drummer Darrin Cripe.
Cripe refers to the album as a summer record, with beach bravado and Octopus Jones signature surf guitar vibrato, “Fresh Shirley” might be the most pop song on the album, but it offers a great general feel for the vibes the album offers. Other songs turn to the bands darker side, night-time jams that feel much more mysterious. There’s an awareness of this, with track titles like “dreaming” and then two tracks later “sunrise”. Octopus Jones is honed in on this album and it’s obvious after a couple of listens that it’s their most cohesive and well thought out release to date.
Watch the video for Fresh Shirley here.
