I haven't done one of these for a while, but there have been a number of records I've wanted to make sure people heard lately, so now's a great time for a slew of mini-reviews! I'm going to try to limit myself to ~5 sentences per band, partially because I want to actually publish this on Bandcamp Friday, and also because I miss writing reviews in little nuggets like that.
Oh wait, what is Bandcamp Friday? It's a day (today) when Bandcamp doesn't take a cut of what it sells on their platform. Paypal still does of course, but the artists get more than usual.
I'm going to try to keep these within the past month, but there may be an exception or two. There are other records worth listening to that won't be on this list, but I'm starting writing this at 5:45 AM and I'm hoping I'll have it out before Noon.
Finally, there are a few records that would be on this list had I not already reviewed them in longer form! Don't skip 'em!
- Frankie and the Pool Boys - Endless Drummer
- Arno de Cea & the Clockwork Wizards - Retrofuturisme Vol. 3
- Penza Penza - Hang Loose! I Got Dem Ol Surfer Bloos...
- Surf Rally for Cali: Fire Relief
Liquid Germs - Return to Earth
Italian group jumps back out of nowhere with their first record since a CD-R in 1999. Slammin' Man or Astro-Man inspired stuff with some hyperactive synth accompaniment. How do I know they're Italian? Other than the Italian clips in the songs? Other than the fact that their bio clearly states it? Their photos show them holding the style of record player where you put a 45 into a slot -- these "mangiadischi" style players were almost exclusively made in Italy.
The Wild Heart Revival - Surf Instrumental
I've been kind of fascinated by this record. It feels so modest and eschews many of the tropes of the genre, but it's also such an intricately arranged and soulful album. It's rarely outright aggressive, but it still bares texture and weight, as well as plenty of variety. And I still have no issuse calling it a surf album even if it feels a bit different. Wrriten and arranged chiefly by Leslie Lowe, who from what I can discern comes from a primarily folk background. Her instagram says it was made a while ago, I hope it's not a one-off because it's a pretty fresh sound for surf and I want more.
The Panturas - Galura Topikalia
There's only one instrumental on here (the opener), but holy moly is it a mind-melter, and the rest of the album has plenty of surf appeal. A chaotic and mix of surf, traditional sundanese mix, and substances I'd be hesitant to ingest. Love this group.
Los No Te Vayas - S/T
Super interesting group from Mexico that plays surf as if its cellular membranes have broken down. I have no idea what else I can say about it, unique stuff!
Majestic-12 - Majic Eyes Only EP
There have been a bunch of eye-catching releases from Finland lately (and always). These guys play super punchy modern surf with maybe a slight horror edge to them. They're great, it's pay-what-you-want, remember them because I hope this is just the start.
The many works of Paul Johnson
Paul is about as surf legend as they come, being a founding member of The Belairs. He's still with us, though hampered by medical problems and, being an American, the financial troubles that result from that. In the past month or so a bunch of his releases have been thrown onto bandcamp. I've admittedly mostly heard the earlier stuff, but that's the idea: you can dive into some of his lesser known works.
The Mystery Shipps - Release the Hounds (single)
A surf band within an hour of where I live! This almost never happens! Especially properly reverby and in this case, spooky!
The Starhoppers - Coronal Mass Ejection
Progressive semi-psychedelic surf that sounds spacey without really taking after Man or Astro-Man. Featuring Paul from The Pyronauts on guitar. Debut LP was good, this is a bit more of the same but refined!
Mary Ann Hawkins - Helsinki Surf City
This deserved a longer review but at this point it's been almost 3 months and I tend to look forward, not back, so let's do a quick one here. Mary Ann Hawkins self-titled debut was top-tier stuff -- I gave it a Gremmy award in a pretty competitive year. Their follow-up is not as relentlessly loud as the first and has a few vocal tracks (and a few new directions... disco surf?), and I am a little let down by that fact, but when they do bring the volume they do it with a white-knuckle intensity that nobody else does in quite the same way. So while I'd personally rank this behind their first, I also think there's tracks on here that *need* to be heard. Such as "Ghost of Mary Ann Hawkins".
Los Tsunami Terrors - Demo Los Tsunami Terrors
Guatemlan group with a high-flyin' modern surf sound and guitar that doesn't mess around. Or maybe it messes around very well? In any case they're very good and I hope that this demo gets them the attention they seek.
Are there others? Certainly! In fact, feel free to leave a comment. But I think that's all I'm going to do for now.
