Surf rock is not the first genre one considers when scoping out the musical lineage of New Orleans, though perhaps; after 20 years of The Unnaturals establishing themselves as a bespoke backing track of the city, maybe it should be. A cultural cross-pollination of rolling baselines, shredding riffs and a beat meant for vibing out on either a beachfront or a dive bar, the California-based discipline of utilizing electric guitars to mime the ebb and flow of crashing ocean waves has escaped containment and transmogrified amid the swampy after-sludge of post-Katrina music scene into a legion eyed creature from another world; an all-consuming definition-less behemoth that assimilates influences and expels them into entrancing, universal grooves at supersonic speed.
Founded by guitarist Kevin Bowles and bassist Jenn Attaway, and later joined by drummer Bill Heintz, The Unnaturals were molded in a New Orleans desperate for something new; a multi-disciplined head trip meant to wash away the lingering stain of receding floodwaters. Standing out in a city where jazz and punk scenes are vibrant proved to be a double-edged sword for the flowering triptych, whose unique sound was both novel and niche; a potent distinction which, on a long enough curve, always finds its audience. And so the eager surf rockers did what artists do: they gigged, they grinded, they plied their trade wherever they could; tiki nights, dive bars, and private events. They opened for The Chop Tops, The Koffin Kats, and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, playing Ramones covers one night and rockabilly the next; eager to be heard and find themselves amid the din of influences and a maelstrom of monstrous musicality.
“There was nobody else doing surf rock,” Bowles said. “You can find five punk bands at a show, you can find five metal bands at a show. You’ll never find more than one surf rock band.”
“It kind of worked in our favor because we would just get the darnedest gigs,” Attaway said. “If an industrial band came through town, like ‘GENITORTURERS’ or ‘My Life with the Throw Kill Kult,’ we would get the gig because they didn’t have anyone else to play with. So we were the sore thumb; they were the sore thumb; let’s have one sore thumb open for the other one.”
Vibing out to The Unnaturals is akin to rolling along a highway lined with drive-in theaters playing ‘60s creature features while Van Halen wails away on the radio; a grab bag of vibrant and contradictory aesthetics modeled and recombined in real time to create something thrilling and new. From the ominously cinematic and somber “Miedo” to the Ennio Morricone-inspired “Staring Proudly into the Sunset,” every thumping track is a new adventure, a journey beyond the bounds of space-time shared between a trio of artists and an audience eager to hang on tight for the ride. That shared experience, that live and unabridged soul-spilling soundscape is what makes The Unnaturals true New Orleans originals, kaleidoscopic troubadours for whom every night, every show, every song is a portal to another dimension where traditional genre roadblocks are evaporated into so much moon dust.
“When I’m in a really good writing space, when I’m just cranking them out, I’m usually not even listening to guitar music,” Bowles said. “I’m usually listening to dance music or something weird; hearing melodies that are more than some 90-mph guitar part.”
“Because we’re instrumental, it’s about finding the story,” Heintz said. “You’re not just shredding, you’re going somewhere. The thing about Kevin’s writing is that it does tell a story, a true beginning, middle, and end, as if it were a script.”
As they begin work on their first vinyl record, an aural culmination built upon two decades of constant experimentation, The Unnaturals continue doing what they do best: discovering new frontiers worthy of exploration and reinvention where you’ll never hear the same set twice. While their influence has immortalized itself in the New Orleans punk/horror scene, evidenced by their helping found “Creepy Fest” and frequent inclusion in horror film soundtracks, the group is far from resting on laurels. It is in that dogged persistence, that unendingly curious reach of style and musicianship where The Unnaturals can be found; rising from an otherworldly ooze in search of fresh alien waves to shred, a jack-of-all-trades musicality which is unique, seductive, and undeniably made in New Orleans.
Must-see performances this month
Sept. 5: The Suicide Machines + Bad Operation, 8 p.m. at The Broadside, broadsidenola.com.
Sept. 9: The Midnight, 8 p.m. at The Civic Theater, civicnola.com.
Sept. 9: Chance the Rapper, 7 p.m. at The Fillmore, thefillmorenola.com.
Sept. 14: Danzig (with Twin Temple), 5 p.m. at The Fillmore, thefillmorenola.com.
Sept. 20: Fais Do-Do with Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, 5p.m. at Tipitina’s, tipitinas.com.
