It's another Bandcamp Friday! I was hoping that instead of a round-up I'd have a slurry of reviews to stand in its place. Instead I have three. Since I'm starting this at 1pm on Bandcamp Friday itself I'm going to limit myself to two sentences per entry.
First, let me link the reviews I just did
The Surfrajettes - Easy as Pie
Pekka Laine & the Enchanted - In Slumberland
The Unnaturals - Sleazy Listening
OK I'm going to suspend my two-sentence rule just for this one. The Unnaturals have been serving New Orleans instrumental kinda-surf music longer than I have. You'll find plenty of distortion and probably nary a reverbed drip, and Iron Maiden is probably a more overt influence than Dick Dale, but they're mostly their own thing, and if you're not a purist it's a lot of fun. They're trying some new stuff here, with a little keyboard and a spaghetti western song. Long live The Unnaturals.
Les Catchers - Balaclava Party
Les Catchers don't just harken back to 90's budget rock surf, this is actually an unreleased album from that time.
Surf Cult - Cosmic Horror
Metal-minded power surf. Good stuff!
The Missiles - Playa Villa Guadalupe
Shades of exotica and jazz with plenty of steel guitar, but also some noisy moments. I think these guys like being a little weird, and it works for me.
Black Valley Moon - Curses, Wishes & Haunted Transmissions Vol. 2
After releasing several vocal releases Black Valley Moon are back to instrumentals on this EP, and they sound great and Halloween appropriate. Love the acoustic guitar. Vol. 1 is psychobilly, both are name-your-price.
Mister Trece and the Werewolves
Great, unique Halloweeny sound with a bit of a rockabilly influence. My AI suspicion meter ticked a little bit here because the rest of his stuff isn't like this and the sound quality is a little off, but I think it's genuine and it's name-your-price anyway.
Chauffeur et Parlak - In Chromatic Tension
It only took a year for a follow-up to last year's great record. I haven't had much time to digest this (it came out yesterday) but it's similar to the first, and a good fit for those mourning Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited.
The Belgrade Beaches - One One Five
Super heavy and aggressive stuff out of Serbia. Just two tracks, name-your-price, looking forward to hearing more.
Hidden Reefs - Arabian Nights EP
Super dense arrangements with a diverse (likely digital) instrumentation. I think they're going for something enchanting and I'd say they got it.
Marmalade Wake - Tropical Fruits
Marmalade Wake can be a good surf band when they want to ("Greenway"), but there's also a lot of exotica, and a hint of Khruangbin/Glass Beams etc. I've really been enjoying this one, it's a very fresh listen.
Chillingsworth Surfingham - Mavericks
Certainly not traditional surf, Mavericks is a lighthearted romp through different styles, sounds and ideas. An active-listening record.
Urban Surf Kings - Electric Buffalo
This came out today, I've barely heard any of it, but it's been a little while since we've heard much from this long-running Canadian group!
Los Grises - Los Grises
Excellent debut that keeps a solid surf tone mixed with sci-fi elements and a hard-hitting energy. Crazy that this came out so soon after fellow Argentinians Las Animas released their also-great record. What else you got, Argentina?
Bloodshot Bill - Diary of the Doom
I think Bloodshot Bill is a genius, and we're lucky that he occasionally drops these lo-fi instrumental albums on us. They're certainly unique, and I think they work better listened as a whole album than as singles.
Surfin' Burt's Surfin' Safari 2
The follow-up to last year's compilation from the voracious surf spelunker Surfin' Burt. I actually just got my copy in the mail about two days ago and haven't gotten to listen yet, but I only recognize maybe 4 of these songs and that's awesome.
Well, there are more that I'd like to squeeze in here, but it sounds like my daughter's naptime has ended and with it my opportunity to write this article. Hope you found some nice surf on bandcamp today.
