Sea Scouts...

Sea Scouts were a highly regarded noise-rock band based out of Hobart, Tasmania in mid to late 90’s. Originally formed in 1995 by Tim Evans and Zach von Bamburger in 1995, the duo enlisted the services of a drum machine for their first EP 100,000 Dollar Mammal, which was released on Evans’ own lable Infinity. After the EP was released they were joined by drummer Monica Fikerle. Keeping in line with the monotonous pounding of the drum machine, Fikerle’s style was of the same repetitive force with tribal like drum beats that she produced on a snare-less drum set while playing standing up. However her stay was a short one as she left the band only a couple months or so after she joined. After that the band went through a number of drummers before eventually going on a brief hiatus in 1996.

Evans reformed the band the same year with new bassist Alex Pope and temporary drummer Andy Hazel. Hazel’s spot was later replaced by Sara Mae Libero. This lineup would go on to record the bands first album Pattern of Recognition which was released in 1997 through Infinity and Chapter Music. Even though their debut is pretty good and full of visceral gems, it really didn’t foreshadow what the band had in store for their second album, which very well may be one of the best noise-rock albums I’ve heard come out of Australia. But before I get to that, Sara Mae Libero left the band in late 1997 and was replaced by original drummer Monica Fikerle. This lineup would go on to record the bands finest moment in 1998’s Beacon of Hope, which was released on Unstable Ape Records. Almost suffocating at times with the endless rumble of bass and feedback, it’s only heightened by Fikerle’s constant pounding on drums. It gave the album a darker vibe than the band had taken on previous recordings along with melancholic melodies that sometimes manage to surface from the pour of fuzz and screams from vocalist Evans.

After Beacon of Hope the band actually went back and re-recorded their first album Pattern of Recognition with a new budget that afforded it a better quality recording. This version of the album would be released in 1999 through Patsy records and would also mark the first time the album was released on CD. They followed that up with a single on Zum Records that same year with a couple of older songs “Word as a Weapon” & “Destroy Your Local McDonalds” that were originally written in ’95. The band eventually called it quits the following year, playing their last show in Melbourne.

Pattern of Recognition ('99):
Sea Scouts - Lightning Song [MP3]

Beacon of Hope:
Sea Scouts – Song with No Name [MP3]
Sea Scouts – Beacon of Hope [MP3]

Word as Mouth 7’’:
Sea Scouts – Word as a Weapon [MP3]

Although I think most, if not all, of this stuff is out of print it appears that the Stickfigure’s online store has copies of Beacon of Hope. So that’s definitely worth a shot. If that doesn’t pan out, then there is always eBay I suppose. I know Zum had licensed the album for US distribution but it doesn’t seem to be available on their site, however you can still pick up the single that they exclusively released. Anyway, if you happen to run across any of their albums, by all means pick them up.

"Song For Che"