Thematically,
the Barracudas pushed hard a Southern California surf-rock image on their debut -- there's the cover photo, for one, and then there's a good chunk of the songs. Titles like the demi-hit singles "Summer Fun," "California Lament," "On the Strip," and "Surfers Are Back" are self-explanatory, while the deliciously campy "His Last Summer," detailing one dude's final big wave with Brit-accented asides, has got to win an award for being one of rock's best fake-tragedy stories. However,
the Barracudas were more accurately a sharp balance between the harder-edge of new wave power pop and a freewheeling, mid-'60s L.A. revivalism. Rather than peeling off
Dick Dale or
Ventures-style riffs, or even trying much for
the Beach Boys' early sound, the foursome combined some surf-tinged work with
the Byrds' ringing exuberance,
Love's more frazzled early garage stomps, and the kind of punk collected on Nuggets. When it all works, it rises from mere tribute status to being its own groovy kick, often resembling a more specifically '60-fixated version of
the Church. Everything is original on
Drop Out, though sources of inspiration aren't far off at any turn, however reused and remade. "Codeine" has a more epic swoop and cautionary feel than
the Sonics gave to "Strychnine," and "I Saw My Death in a Dream Last Night" isn't quite
the Electric Prunes, but the same sort of not-quite-borrowing crops up song for song, and not too badly at that. Some songs, such as "I Can't Pretend" and "This Ain't My Time," have just enough of a crisp kick to remind you that they were recorded in 1980 rather than 15 years earlier. Generally speaking, though, one song title sums up the entire fun spirit of
Drop Out: "I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again." [EMI's 2005 reissue of the album adds five B-sides (including one of the band's signature songs "Surfers Are Back!") and seven songs recorded in 1981 but never released.] ~ Ned Raggett