Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Biography
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists was an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists. When the Scientists stopped, Salmon continued the Surrealists as his main band, while also playing in The Beasts Of Bourbon. Salmon formed the first lineup of the Surrealists in mid-1987, with Brian Hooper on bass and Tony Pola on drums. He formed the band to record the album Hit Me With The Surreal Feel
The Arc of Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
The pivots — what forced Kim Salmon and the Surrealists to reinvent.
The Dirty Three-Piece
The band started as a stripped-back power trio in 1988, built entirely around the tension between Kim, bassist Brian Hooper, and drummer Tony Pola. You hear this minimal, bone-dry production on 'Just Because You Can't See It...' where there are no studio tricks to hide behind. It was a reaction against the bloated, over-produced pub rock dominating Australian airwaves at the close of the eighties. They proved that a guitar, bass, and drums could sound more menacing than a whole rack of synthesizers.
The European Expansion
By 1995, the band signed with the European label Red Eye and brought in Warren Ellis on violin to expand their sonic palette. Ellis, who would soon join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds full-time, brought a frantic, screeching element to the self-titled album 'Kim Salmon & The Surrealists'. This lineup pushed the band away from straight-up swamp rock and into a chaotic, avant-garde territory. The tracks became longer, more experimental, and loaded with feedback.
The Soul-Groove Detour
In 1997, Salmon threw a massive curveball with 'Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing,' dragging the band into a weird, greasy soul-funk hybrid. He hired a horn section and tried to channel Booker T. & the M.G.'s through a broken fuzz pedal. Purists hated it because it lacked the raw aggression of 'Sin Factory,' but it proved Salmon wasn't content to play the swamp-rock godfather forever. It was a bizarre, sweaty experiment that closed out the band's initial run.
Influences
- The Stooges — Salmon has repeatedly cited Ron Asheton's primal, two-note guitar solos as his ultimate blueprint. You hear this heavy, repetitive down-stroke chug all over 'Just Because You Can't See It...'
- Captain Beefheart — The Surrealists covered 'Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin' Stones' live and mirrored the Magic Band's disjointed, angular rhythms. The odd-time drum signatures Tony Pola used on 'Essence' come straight from 'Trout Mask Replica.'
- Cramps — Salmon shared stages with them and openly lifted their trashy, B-movie rockabilly aesthetic for the Surrealists' early singles. The greasy, echo-drenched vocal delivery on 'Hit Me With the Surreal Feel' is a direct nod to Lux Interior.
- The Gun Club — Jeffrey Lee Pierce's haunted, punk-blues hybrid was a massive touchstone for the Melbourne scene that birthed the Surrealists. Hooper's bass lines on 'Sin Factory' carry the same driving, dark-hearted momentum as 'Fire of Love.'
- Howlin' Wolf — Salmon's slide guitar work is rooted in the distorted, menacing blues of Chess Records. He took the menacing, slow-burn tension of Hubert Sumlin's guitar work and fed it through a blown-out Australian fuzz box.
Discography
Related artists
Members