Jurassic Shark Takes Another Bite with Newest Album “Overflow”

Jurassic Shark is a four-piece band originating from Monrovia, California. The band formed in 2014, thanks to lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Daniel Fowler. Daniel introduced lead guitarist Skip to his future bandmates; Jonathan Hastings the drummer, and Maximo Huete the bassist.

Jurassic Shark plays a style of music that can be described as a blend of many styles and since 2013 the band has released four albums. Their first being “Miracle”. This lead the band to release a compilation album titled “2013-2015”. This album featured tracks from “Miracle” as well as unreleased bonus tracks. In 2016, they released their third album. This was a five song EP titled “Blue School”.

This rise in popularity made Jurassic Shark obtain a sort- of cult following in the southern California indie rock scene, playing at popular underground venues such as The

Smell and the Echoplex. They have also played at underground festivals such as Echo Park Rising, Dirty Penni Fest., and even, SXSW. Jurassic Shark is performing at Tropicalia Festival in Long Beach this November.

In Jurassic Shark’s newest album “Overflow”, released this past August, the band trades their original Lo-fi garage punk sound for a more clean and filtered sound which, although different, is still very similar to their original albums.

Vocalist, Daniel Fowler sings with a powerful tone that transcends energy and passion to the listener. This gives “Overflow” a sense of refreshing familiarity to the audience but, a twist in style. Although the vocal style stayed the same, the instruments did not.

In “Overflow” the tone of the guitar is much more clear and gives a stronger vibe. Lead guitarist Skip ditched the distorted in-your-face punk sound for a more modern style. His style of playing has also changed. In “Overflow” he plays more rhythmic licks that are not as catchy as his previous steady riffs.

Drummer Jonathan Hastings also changes his form of playing drums to a more catchy turn on rock. This also allows him to better showcase his talent as a drummer. This is shown in tracks such as “Sometimes” and “Arrowhead”. His fast drum fills and aggressive punch to the snare drum compliment the bass and guitar to connect with the audience so much more.

Overall “Overflow” is a step in the right direction for Jurassic Shark. Hopefully we continue to see more work like this from them in the future.