What they are saying about
The Cadillac Hitmen:
Rooted Magazine
4 The Assassin - The Cadillac Hitmen. The New Hampshire-based Cadillac Hitmen bring a new angry sound to spaghetti-western surf. With influences of Carlos Santana, Duane Eddy, and Link Wray, the Hitmen put soul into their Guitars. Listen to the deep Gretcsh guitar sound on "Mirage (Desert Floor)" and a new category comes to mind: "Music For Hardcore Banditos." The album's sound is in rich hi-fidelity, unlike many of today's garage instro bands. Read this month's review in Rooted and judge for your self.
(Note: "The Assassin" received an 11 on Jam Music Magazine's 1 - 11 rating scale.)
by William A. Huffman
"Wow. This Greenland, New Hampshire-based quartet have created an absolutely incredible album of country-flavored surf music.
"I feel like I've heard the Cadillac Hitmen's tunes in movies such as 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Roadside Prophets,' and others. The four musicians have compiled eleven solid instrumentals that confirm their liner notes that begin with 'Three guys with no past and a gal with no future playing the instrumental soundtrack to their lives...'
"Jeff Morris and Robert Garceau play the guitars with a keen ear toward making them sing and swing. The album begins with 'Black Hills' and is followed by 'Desert Floor [Mirage].' These two pieces are truly wonderful with outstanding bass supplied by Tina Marconi and two guitars which reverberate through acoustic strumming and chorus-like lead picking. With 'Desert Floor,' and others, Marconi's bass has a strong lead emphasis, unlike many other styles of music. And she does it with great flair along with her bandmates.
"I can't go without stressing Steve Toland's superb drumming. He creates the absolute perfect tempos for the guitarists to blaze their trails. And blaze they do. They conjure up some great imagery of cruising down a desolate desert highway in a convertible (maybe a Cadillac!). With every strum and new track, it's like entering another part of the countryside, or altogether another day.
"The first three pieces are the best on the album, but they offer up changes that keep it exciting, fresh and exhilarating. The title track is something from a rodeo or bull stampede with tempo changes and a Spanish feel. 'The Downhill Side' is a slower, moodier piece with guitar-picking that sings of better times. The final cut, 'The Incident at Nacho Grande,' is the disc's truest ballad which should have a Western showdown behind it: guns in holsters and hands itching to draw on the other desperado.
"Each band member brings their talent together to create a musical landscape like none before. And they have moments of individual achievement where they show off with wicked licks, emotional strumming and picking, enthusiastic rhythm and attitude. Every time has a different flavor and the sound quality is crisp; The Assassin as a whole is one of the best albums of the year."
Spotlight "The Year In Review", The Portsmouth Herald 12/31/97
Music Aficionados list favorite cds
by Richard Fabrizio
"A hit with many: The Cadillac Hitmen"
"The Cadillac Hitmen also garnered praise from Kevin Guyer, owner of Portsmouth's Rock Bottom Records and Dawn Marie Pierre, co-owner of Portsmouth's Elvis Room. Guyer said the Hitmen were the real deal, calling their sound "punk-driven, lonely desert-surf rock."
(Note: The Cadillac Hitmen and, specifically, their album "The Assassin" was reviewed as one of the "Top seven music acts of the year".)
By Butch Heilshorn
"This album is spooky. It sounds like some old surf-rock gen, a reissue that Rhino Records dusted off, the kind of influential record that shows the current generation how it should be done. This is classy stuff in a worn leather jacket kind of way - good roots rock music for those of use who have survived some of life's more threatening moments."
HI-FI 10/97
"Rhythm guitarist Robert Garceau is a big drink-o-water with a crushing handshake and towering presence second only to his lead player. On stage he wears a one-size-too-small cowboy hat and a western vest with black-as-a-ninja clothes underneath. It gives him a touch of that dangerous, hick-who-married-his-sister look.
"According to Jeff, 'We never EVER wanted to play surf music. Let's face it, the winters are too goddamn long and too fuckin' hard for me to be that happy.'
"...'where'd you hide that body, Robert'...
"And Robert calls it, 'Three demented cowboys and one slut.'
"'You know what's great is we've actually seen people recently at our shows who show up wearing chaps with guns and cowboy hats and all this shit...'"
Phil Dirt's Reverb Central
"Take your beach huggin' buns out to the dude ranch, rope some, throw a few, brand even less, and ride the sweat of your brow, 'cuz the trails through desert call to you across the expanses of the great Southwest. A nice mix of elements, including some surf and many tracks that would fit right in without even a whimper. Solid CD."
Picks: Black Hills, Desert Floor, Eldorado, The Stalker, The Assassin, The Downhill Slide, Flowmaster, Bullwhip, The Incident At Nacho Grande.
THE CADILLAC HITMEN The
Assassin ****
Take your beach huggin' buns out to the
dude ranch, rope some, throw a few,
brand even less, and ride the sweat of
your brow, 'cuz the trails through desert
call to you across the expanses of the great Southwest. A
nice mix of elements, including some surf and many tracks
that would fit right in without even a whimper. Solid CD.
Picks:
Black Hills, Desert Floor, Eldorado, The Stalker,
The Assassin, The Downhill Slide, Flowmaster,
Bullwhip, The Incident At Nacho Grande
Label:
Hellhouse Music None CD
BLACK HILLS ****
The smooth lead guitar over the crunchy rhythm
seems to blend cowboys, surf, pasta and the
American way. It's melodic, pretty, gutsy, and
infectious. A solid track to open the CD with. It is
both delicate and full bodied.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Notable
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Miserable
Without It
DESERT FLOOR ***
Shimmering low-E vibrato guitar spews out images
of mystic landscapes populated with cacti and gilla
monsters basking in the afternoon sun... a very pretty
song, melodic and sandy.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Natural
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Great To Have
FISTFUL OF AMPHETAMINES ***
Fuzzy edgie, semi-melodic, nervous cowboy driven
thunder. Too repetitious for my taste.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Natural
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Great To Have
LONESTAR STATE OF MIND ***
Texas on my mind, and the melody line is ambling
down the cattle trail. OK, but unremarkable.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Natural
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Great To Have
ELDORADO ****
Chunky, melodic, infectious, country fried, and
coming to a theater near you. This track is quite
good, has a pleasing sound, and sports an adequate
supply of outdoors energy. The changes at the break
are nice. Rhythmic and rolling.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Notable
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Miserable
Without It
THE STALKER ****
A certain tension drives this track from it's subtle
start, through it's ominous build up, to it's surfy solo.
The infectious rhythm track makes for a good listen.
I like this a lot!
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Notable
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Miserable
Without It
THE ASSASSIN *****
Evil, howling, feedback ridden, surf driven, desert
dried, with the soul of a rattler. This has many fine
changes, a cool melody, a ton of edge, and a heap of
energy. besides that, it's HOT!
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Incredible
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Kill For It
THE DOWNHILL SLIDE ***
A pretty soothing track with a very relaxing sound.
The guitar has a certain attraction that's hard to
avoid. Appealing and interesting. A few dramatic
whammies, and you're hooked.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Natural
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Great To Have
FLOWMASTER ****
Chunky, plunky, stampeded by mustangs, this track
hauls your butt down the gulch looking for relief. A
nice track.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Notable
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Miserable
Without It
BULLWHIP ****
Fast and chunky, spirited, whammified, surfy,
Southwest imagery, thundering toms, and a goboon
of energy, all combine to assault and delight. Did I
mention infectious?
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Notable
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:
Miserable
Without It
THE INCIDENT AT NACHO GRANDE ***
Holy Cheese Whiz! What a great title! A very bluesy
cowpokin' thing that starts off soft enough, but
gradually gains body via volume and energy. The
melody hook is infectious, but the break is
pedestrian rock guitar hero stuff.
Surf Instrumental
Performance:
Natural
Production:
Average Stereo
Gotta Have It
Factor:Great To Have