Today, Squalls are likely primarily known for opening side one and closing side two of the soundtrack to the 1986 documentary film Athens, GA: Inside/Out, but they released a few records and from 1981 to ’89, and reportedly played the 40 Watt Club in their home city 64 times. Now, Strolling Bones Records offers 24 selections from five of those early ’80s performances on turquoise double vinyl and compact disc, all in full-bodied sound recorded by the 40 Watt’s soundman T. Patton Biddle. Hovering loosely betwixt the post-punky gyrations of Pylon and the new wavy thrust of Love Tractor, the sound is emblematic of its era in the best way possible. Live From the 40 Watt is out August 19.
Squalls consisted of guitarist-vocalist Bob Hay, vocalist Mig Little, keyboardist-vocalist Diana Torell, guitarist Ken Starratt, bassist-saxophonist Al Walsh, and drummer Mark Cooper Smith, although the credits to this set make it clear that a lot of additional multitasking was going on across the band’s existence. In 1984 they recorded a self-titled 12-inch and followed it up the next year with a 45, both issued on the Mbrella label, and then combined the contents of those two onto an eponymous self-released cassette in 1986.
The LP Rebel Shoes arrived in 1987, the band moving on to the Dog Gone label of R.E.M. manager Jefferson Holt, he also put out the band’s second and final studio full-length No Time in ’88. Rebel Shoes’ emergence roughly coincided with Athens, GA: Inside/Out’s hubbub, but Squalls have remained one of the less celebrated acts featured in the movie/on the comp. I’d say that with the exception of Time Toy, Squalls have the most modestly sized rep of those featured in the movie/on the LP (we’re talking R.E.M., Pylon, Flat Duo Jets, Love Tractor, Dreams So Real, Kilkenny Cats, and Bar-B-Q Killers).
Speculation over the lack of a profile-boost has pointed to the small labels they were affiliated with, and I tend to buy that, as I can’t recall ever seeing a Squalls record in stores until a secondhand copy or two turned up long after their breakup, and the only Dog Gone album I can recall seeing in the racks was a 12-inch by Holt’s band Vibrating Egg.
The band did its fair share of touring however, including playing in New York City at CBGB, Danceteria, and Peppermint Lounge. Listening to Live From the 40 Watt, one might get an inkling into why Squalls never broke as large as some of their Athens contemporaries. Frankly, the farther the 1980s marched forward, the farther away the unmistakably new wavish flavor of the band’s sound drifted from widespread appeal.
The keyboards and especially the saxophone accentuate this circumstance to a considerable degree, but it’s necessary to clarify that those instruments aren’t a part of every track’s equation, and that their integration into the overall scheme helps to enhance Squalls’ reality as a party band. Indeed, a handful of moments bring the B-52’s to mind, none more so than “Sheik,” with “Tell Me Now” not far behind, though there is a distinctive strain of alienation running through these tunes.
There are also a few tracks, such as “Information” and “Crickets” consecutively, the former infused with sax wiggle and the latter bordering on the funky, that radiate a NYC vibe, suggesting something nearer to post-no wave than new wave. And that party band angle (but one essentially devoid of cover songs) even got me thinking about the Fleshtones a little bit, which underscores how Squalls were likely a big hit at any institution of higher learning where they chose to plug in.
And so, they were understandably big in their hometown. 64 times at the 40 Watt? They were huge, even. Those collegiate-friendly motions are nowhere stronger than in these live takes of “Na Nanana” and “Elephant Radio,” the songs that opened and closed Athens, GA: Inside/Out, but they had a large repertoire, some of it exclusive to this set (and some of their album tracks not included), they had range, and as Live From the 40 Watt progresses, it’s obvious that Squalls loved what they were doing, and did it well.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
