Night Full of Sirens: Anthology 93-97
Impala is generally described as a group of authentic surf revivalists, but that's not quite right. From the outset, you could hear ominous traces of murder-jazz, drag-strip rave-ups, and raunchy, sax-driven stripper music. Melodies were often sacrificed for moods that made the air seem heavy and humid. If you came of age in Memphis in the 1990s, the Oblivians and the Grifters were writing your soundtrack, but Impala scored the incidental music, with saxophone riffs to highlight the comedy, hot guitar runs for the excitement, and melancholic R&B; for the darker moments. Impala left us with six significant recordings, all of which are out-of-print: El Rancho Reverbo, Kings of the Strip, Square Jungle, the Teenage Tupelo soundtrack, Impala Plays R&B; Favorites, and the LTD A GO GO seven-inch. Not every track was perfect, but none was dull, and the overwhelming majority shimmered with noirish tension or raged like a tsunami. Night Full of Sirens cuts through the filler and right to the high-speed chase. --Memphis Flyer | Review: Night Full of Sirens BY CHRIS DAVISIn the wake of 1994's El Rancho Reverbo comes the Kings of the Strip EP. It's more instrumental surf rock from Memphis, more tradition-minded maybe than Man or Astro-man? but not without that added curl of punk spirit. Check the accelerated rave-up ending of Incident on the 10th Floor, for example, or the furious reverb runs of the Hearse. The honking sax of King Louie Stomp is a great touch, as it moves Impala out of the somewhat static surf rock holding area and into something resembling R&B.; And when the organ drops in on the whitecap, watch out. Other highlights include the film noir atmosphere of Nothing More Than Murder and In Transit's cool mix of rumble and twang. Its rocking underbody suggests that Impala might not be lying about the Kings of the Strip boast. --The All Music Guide