Clouseaux- Lagoon

The Lounge revival of the Mid-Nineties saw not only renewed interest in adult pop and Exotica of the late Fifties and early Sixties but also the emergence of a number of new groups dedicated to recreating or reinterpreting the cocktail nation vibe for modern day tastes. It doesn't surprise me that there seems to be another big uptick going on in interest in Lounge music. After all, the music simply has too much style, too much variety and novelty, and is just too much fun to go away for too long. Don Tiki (a group, not the name of a person.) is perhaps one of the better known of these modern day Exotica groups but there are several other very worthy ones. Waitiki is maybe the closest to a present day version of Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman, Kava Kon does a sort of Exotica meets ambient techno melding and makes a highly successful effort of it, and a third must have for your Lounge collection is this album, the newest from the group Clouseaux. Their sound, like Waitiki's, starts with the same classic Exotica of Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman and then mixes in a certain amount of surf guitar into the proceedings, two genres that meld very smoothly, along the lines of a cocktail like the Sidecar or Scarlet O'Hara, where two or three quite different ingredients blend together to make an altogether new and appealing taste. Think Denny or Lyman with a little bit of the sounds and energy of the Aqua Velvets and even Esquevel stirred in and you'll have a good idea. They then blend in a slightly sinister or malevolent undertone to some of the proceedings...Yes, the beach may be sunny and beautiful and the palm trees swaying in the breeze but behind the beach is the jungle and ten feet in the jungle is something that wants to snatch you and tear you to bits. A fresh and nervy concept, one that avoids any suggestion of the cloying or excessive prettiness which sometimes crept into the originals.I like this album a lot. And if you collect Lounge or Exotica, you'll need this too. It's a standout of the genre. Then after you get it, pour yourself a Scorpion or Mai Tai into your best Tiki mug, garnish it with a long pineapple spear, sit back and take a trip away from all your stress.


1.Lost Lagoon (Intro) 2. Shrunken Heads 3. Destination: Oasis 4. Walking From Juarez 5. The Dance Of The Crustaceans 6. The Kiss Of Ku 7. Krakatoa 8. Copper Locked Nymph 9. A Most Excellent Flying Death 10. Reum With A View 11. Noctopia 12. Lost Lagoon

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