Early Dolphin

No, it's not early-morning junior swim team practice. Silver Lake neo-psychedelic pop rockers Early Dolphin are more interested in orchestrating your Coen brothers-inspired dream sequences than pouncing into the pool. These Cali boys play '70s trip rock to an
uncanny tee. (EJ) - Flavor Pill, 2006

The muddy, distorted guitars; the low-in-the-mix, full stereo, nearly mumbled vocals…add a Farfisa organ and Swim sounds like a Rhino re-issue of almost any mid-to-late 60's psychedelic band. Dig out your old Lava lamp, strobe light, blacklight and posters, light some incense, grab a bottle of Patchouli oil and let's groove, baby!

Early Dolphin is comprised of Clay S. Guccione – Guitars/Vocals, Michael B. Myers – Bass, and Spencer T. Nikosey – Drums. There's a lot of music coming out of this trio, the songs are well-packed with swelling guitar chords and rumbling bass lines.

This debut album is pretty consistent in maintaining this hippie era folk/rock feel. I do hear modern influences here and there, just enough to keep it interesting. Listen closely to the rotary phased guitar tones toward the end of Go Where You Want To Go to hear what I mean. They use the altering speed of the rotary effect as a dynamic change within the solo section.

Swim, the title song, is the only exception, being very folk and low-key…and at 2:12, it's the shortest song on the disc. The entire CD is only 22:40, split between 8 songs…kind of short for a "full" CD, in my opinion.

The CD packaging is the tri-fold style with hand-drawn cover art by Josh Cochran. It's actually pretty nice and goes well with the overall theme of the band and it's music. While it doesn't really grab your attention…it doesn't scare you away either. It pretty neutral in that respect. More vivid colors may help when it's sitting on a shelf with 100 other CDs.

While nothing really stands out or blows me away, musically on Swim, it is well executed and DOES work as a cool homage to that renaissance period in our musical history when "rock" music emerged from rock and roll, pop, folk and blues. Cycles, track 2, is typical of the topics and arrangements from that era. A little college philosophy, mixed with whatever might be growing out back, went a long way in that rebellious time.

In this current time of short attention spans and shock music that beats you over the head with meaningless lyrics, fictitious words and noises, and simple, angry beats…it's refreshing to hear an album of rock music that you can put on and listen to all the way through and just enjoy. In the end, it's a very different kind of record for this day and age…and quite listenable. I'll bet these guys are really great to see and hear live!
Flavorpil, Los Angeles
January 2006
No, it's not early-morning junior swim team practice. Silver Lake neo-psychedelic pop rockers Early Dolphin are more interested in orchestrating your Coen brothers-inspired dream sequences than pouncing into the pool. These Cali boys play '70s trip rock to an
uncanny tee. (EJ)
Eagle Rock, Boulevard Sentinel
October 2005
Hello everyone and welcome to another outta-sight, musical adventure! This Month we have local band Early Dolphin, a group of talented guys who met in 2002 while attending the prestigous Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Clay Guccione is known to write catchy folk inspired pop songs and show an interest in loud phychedelic 60's-esque guitar layering. Bassist Michael Myers, originally from Phoenix, Arizona has an obvious ear for complex melodies and blending harmonies. Spencer T. Nikosey, the drummer has an amazing musical flair that really shines through in his crazy-fun beats and imaginative fills. Early Dolphin is an awsomely talented trio, who write all their own material and who find inspiration from Warhol and Picasso as well as the Beatles and the Byrds. "We design our songs to convey specific feelings or moods. We like our songs to have structure, but we design them to feel loose and free. It's musical crayon drawing—we're just having fun with the medium". On "SWIM", Early Dolphin's first release, you're submerged into an audibly aquatic dreamland filled with free, floating melodies, bubling beats and lovely, liquid vocals soaked in radiant reverb. A pure delight! Starting off the album is my personal favoraite, Go Where You Want to Go. Picture 60's sparkle mixed with minor 80's agnst of a Molly Ringwald film. The pulsating bass line, clicking cymbols and magical guitar solos make this a tune that begs to be played over and over again (which I kindly oblige to). "Sealbot's On Vacation" simply revels in watery vocal distortion and fuzzy guitar reverb. A dreamy surf rock masterpiece that could even get Dick Dale rockin'! The beatiful, What's In Your Pocket? incorporates 50's-style balladry with killer riffs and crashing drums. Early Dolphin really flexes their song writing skills and instrumentation on this tune. "Another Movie" evokes memories of the first 1979 Cure record, simple yet classic. A prominent bass line saturating over blarring guitar chrods and dead-on drum beat. Getting a tad more rocked out that usual in No Strings, Early Dolphin really shows off their stuff. Sporting a nice full sound, catchy guitar riff and rockin' up tempo beat, this tune is sure t - Unknown/online

Hello everyone and welcome to another outta-sight, musical adventure! This Month we have local band Early Dolphin, a group of talented guys who met in 2002 while attending the prestigous Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Clay Guccione is known to write catchy folk inspired pop songs and show an interest in loud phychedelic 60's-esque guitar layering. Bassist Michael Myers, originally from Phoenix, Arizona has an obvious ear for complex melodies and blending harmonies. Spencer T. Nikosey, the drummer has an amazing musical flair that really shines through in his crazy-fun beats and imaginative fills. Early Dolphin is an awsomely talented trio, who write all their own material and who find inspiration from Warhol and Picasso as well as the Beatles and the Byrds. "We design our songs to convey specific feelings or moods. We like our songs to have structure, but we design them to feel loose and free. It's musical crayon drawing—we're just having fun with the medium". On "SWIM", Early Dolphin's first release, you're submerged into an audibly aquatic dreamland filled with free, floating melodies, bubling beats and lovely, liquid vocals soaked in radiant reverb. A pure delight! Starting off the album is my personal favoraite, Go Where You Want to Go. Picture 60's sparkle mixed with minor 80's agnst of a Molly Ringwald film. The pulsating bass line, clicking cymbols and magical guitar solos make this a tune that begs to be played over and over again (which I kindly oblige to). "Sealbot's On Vacation" simply revels in watery vocal distortion and fuzzy guitar reverb. A dreamy surf rock masterpiece that could even get Dick Dale rockin'! The beatiful, What's In Your Pocket? incorporates 50's-style balladry with killer riffs and crashing drums. Early Dolphin really flexes their song writing skills and instrumentation on this tune. "Another Movie" evokes memories of the first 1979 Cure record, simple yet classic. A prominent bass line saturating over blarring guitar chrods and dead-on drum beat. Getting a tad more rocked out that usual in No Strings, Early Dolphin really shows off their stuff. Sporting a nice full sound, catchy guitar riff and rockin' up tempo beat, this tune is sure to get anyone out of their seat! The album ends with "Swim", an amazing song with a soul-stirring melody and sparse lullaby vocals. Definitely a stunning end to an invigorating album. Early Dolphin truly impress with their musical debut, "Swim" which is available at Amoeba Music and online at CDbaby.com Give them a go-around or check them out live… Early Dolphin… "Good for marine adventures!" - Eagle Rock, Boulevard Sentinel