Reverb Central - Phil Dirt
***** (5 Stars)
San Francisco's Pollo Del Mar have just issued their first CD. They have definite Zappa influences, a wonderful and unique sense of melody, and plenty of watery underpinnings. The music is loaded with jazz and desert and island shimmer and unique melodies. There is just no one out there doing what they are doing. Sophisticated writing, hot performing, and unusual combinations of elements bring it all together for a unique trip down the highway of instrumental hugeness.

Cosmik Debris - D.J. Johnson
Bout time! How long have we surf freaks been waiting for a full-length release from Pollo Del Mar? Let's just say my 4-song EP is shot all to hell from over-use. Now it can rest in peace while I play this incredible CD to death.
Pollo Del Mar's music is more than just entertaining: it's fascinating. Break it down and see what you find. Even their most traditional sounding tunes have something unusual in the mix. While guitarists Ferenc Dobronyi and Jono Jones are gracefully splashing around in the reverb, Chris Thomas' rockin' drumming and the jazzy fretless bass work of Jefferson Turner make a powerful fusion and an instantly recognizable sound. The real show, however, begins when they leave tradition behind and ride the waves less traveled. These are four of the finest musicians around, and when they cut loose, it's something to hear. The sound is mysterious, dark, deep and turbulent, yet there's another element... Call it "dark optimism." Only The Insect Surfers, GT Stringer, and The Galaxy Trio brew similarly intoxicating sounds.
The 14 tunes on The Ocean Is Not For Cowards run the spectrum from trad to jazzy fusion to stormy psych. Songs like "Snow Crash" and "Insecticide" beg for a new genre tag. Not just surf, but Tsunami Music. After a long, long wait, the big wave has finally hit the beach.

Instrumental Rock and Roll Reviews - Kirk Scon
Sunshine, salt breezes, the endless rolling of the surf - the interwining guitars of Ferenc Dobronyi and Jono Jones weave glistening sonic tapestries of subtly layered luminescense above the bottom dwelling rhythm section throughout the 14 tracks of this CD. Although their style is surf all the way, this band manages to create a highly original sound from a standard four-piece setup. Good songwriting, flawless picking and meticulous production all serve to create a melodic ebb and flow that, with a little imagination, will have the listener floating in the kelp beds off the coast, splashed with light and soothed by the slow rolling of the waves.
Plus, their name, when translated, decribes my surfing style!

Discoveries - John Blair
The debut effort from San Francisco's Pollo Del Mar is on the non-trad side of the fence but what a nice effort it is. The Ocean Is Not For Cowards is a unique listen but difficult to describe. The band has been called a cross between Frank Zappa (Zappa's "Take You're Clothes Off" in fact, is one of the better tracks here) and the Insect Surfers (the influence on PDM was so striking, their "Insecticide" track is dedicated to the Insect Surfers). Don't let this comparison turn you away from checking this one out. If you like your surf music a bit progressive, with appropriate amounts of whammybar action and glissandos, here's one of the best efforts you could search out.

Garage and Beat - Edwin Lechter
True surf lovers can never get too much of a good thing and will want to add this disc to their voluminous collection. A solid four piece that adheres to the basic structure of twoo guitars, a bass and some skins that explores a wide variety of rhythmic, tonal and meldoic territory. This release came out in 1997, but has just been pressed up again for a new batch of mad party people. Though peppered with various exotic touches, moody flourishes and tension elevating moments, this is a seamless afair with sweet, soaring guitars throughout. The sax and piano work on "Playa Pistola" makes for a dandy change of pace. Bonus pun points for the song title "To Surf, With Love."