This EP is Dirty Fuse's first with their new guitarist after their previous guitarist went Back to Brazil. I'd still say this sounds like the Dirty Fuse we're familiar with, but I can only say that because they're an adventurous group and change is expected. There's still prominent saxophone, there's a great sense of depth to the sound - partially nice recording, but the bass definitely rounds it out as well. "Evolution" starts it out as a pretty aggressive number, but you get a lot more...Read more
Reviews
Post date: 11/09/2015 - 08:00
I'm under the impression that The 427's EP Surf Noir got a bit of a attention in surf circles, and I don't doubt that they'll find an audience with their first full-length Mavericks. They've got a pretty trad sound with two guitars, bass, and drums, but the arrangements and riffs are all very catchy and memorable. On one listen, "Fake Betty", "Night of the Living Surf" and "Urchin Stomp" were standouts. On "Yellowbelly" and "The Blue Cactus" they...Read more
Post date: 11/05/2015 - 07:45
This one has been available for streaming for a while, but like so many others their vinyl 10" got stuck in an enormous backlog. But the wait is over, and you can now spin these songs on your turntable. Balu & die Surfgrammeln have a pretty trad, upbeat surf sound interspersed with a lot of vintage audio clips. I love the bounce in "Der Zerfall Von Backerbsen" and the percussion in their version of Comanche.
And of course, gotta love that great Shawn Dickinson artwork.
You...Read more
Post date: 11/05/2015 - 07:33
Here's something a little different. Black River Manifesto take a slow, noisy approach to surf. It's pained and dischordant, at times maybe even a little jazzy (the upright acoustic bass helps there), and sometimes bluesy (their last EP was a lot bluesier). I'm placing them somewhere near ...Read more
Post date: 11/03/2015 - 07:58
The Illumignarly come out swinging with the quick and powerful track "Beeriodic Table of Sharks" but as you get a little further into that you hear a moment of spaciness that hints at the couple of prog elements that come out in "Neo Rubicon" and "Cannibal Castration" (a vocal track). "Tall Can" and "Dude I Like Your Shredder" are 100% surf rock shredding material. This is a pretty impressive EP with a lot of ideas in it and a whole lot of oomph.Read more
Post date: 11/01/2015 - 09:09
This one almost slipped by me until the Coffin Daggers posted about them after playing their release show. After a listen to the soundcloud songs below, it's kinda got the wild, somewhat showy guitar playing of Ramblin' Ambassadors but in more of a spooky horror way. Real tight 3-some, love how it all fits together on "Devil's Punchbowl".Read more
Post date: 11/01/2015 - 08:54
Russia's The Sloptones know how to make a Halloween EP; they released a good one last year. But despite the Halloween release date, they went in the opposite direction this time with a dialed-down quiet record. No wall-of-sound here, drums kept to a level that won't bug the neighbors, and bass designed to keep your foot tapping but legs otherwise at rest.Read more
Post date: 11/01/2015 - 08:44
Despite the near-Halloween relaese date, this isn't much of a horror-surf record, though it does have an air of mystery to it. Man... or Astro-Man? is definitely a bit of a jump-off point here with with similar dark tones, sound clips, and "extra" sounds abound (one member plays "extra guitar", percussion and keyboards). But all of those parts come together really well and with a lot of creativity. I think this is definitely worth a listen!Read more
Post date: 10/31/2015 - 09:09
Despite the near-Halloween relaese date, this isn't much of a horror-surf record, though it does have an air of mystery to it. Man... or Astro-Man? is definitely a bit of a jump-off point here with with similar dark tones, sound clips, and "extra" sounds abound (one member plays "extra guitar", percussion and keyboards). But all of those parts come together really well and with a lot of creativity. I think this is definitely worth a listen!Read more
Post date: 10/31/2015 - 08:35
In time for Halloween, The Coffin Wheels have given us three dark n' dirty instrumentals. "Astroy all Destromen" is the fastest, followed by two creepier ones. Good horror surf with some punchy metal-styled drumming. You can stream it on bandcamp, but perplexingly you'll have to shell out $10 for this 3-song EP: more than their LPs! EDIT: Much more devilish price now
...Read more
Post date: 10/31/2015 - 08:23
I should have realized that the reason I hadn't seen many surf releases recently was because they were being saved up for October 31st. Though The Baffles weren't really a horror-surf band on their last album, this release is largely comprised of covers of popular horror themes. Some of them are pretty familiar to the surf world (The Munsters, Fear (One Step Beyond)) but I don't think I've seen covers of Beetlejuice, Scorpio's Theme or the Exorcist Theme. ...Read more
Post date: 10/31/2015 - 08:09
I can't find much on Megatronadores outside this bandcamp page - no facebook, website, twitter - but this looks like their first release and they have my attention! The opening track "Volcanica" is a great trad surf number with a nice and wet guitar tone and a great sense of danger ramped up by a swirling organ in the background. But then on "El Cuero" they start to get a bit more brave, constantly switching the tones of their instruments: surf to fuzz, keyboard to 80's synth,...Read more
Post date: 10/31/2015 - 07:52
I was just thinking about how Ghost Scorpion were falling behind their pattern of one release per year. "Boss Metal Zone" is pretty recognizably Ghost Scorpion material: lo-fi, ragged guitar at a pretty quick tempo. They do it well and they do it here as well as they ever have. "Straight to Darkness" is probably the highlight for me, but by such a narrow margin it might be overtaken with more listens.
Speaking of listens, you should listen! It's pay-what-you-want...Read more
Post date: 10/28/2015 - 07:38
Reading their facebook page, I'm having a hard time telling whether this is a farewell EP or if Sonic Nightmare is merely saying they're dead for the purposes of a Halloween EP. Either way, I do have things left unsaid: I never made a release notice for their split EP earlier this year. This is predictably some creepin' horror...Read more
Post date: 10/23/2015 - 09:32
This is the second Messer Chups LP this year and much like The Incredible Crocotiger it's been hard to find. They made a post on facebook saying it's out and didn't respond to the masses asking "where?".
I have a policy of not posting about a new release unless I can tell you where to get it, and it looks like it's...Read more
Post date: 10/19/2015 - 07:53
Genki Genki Panic may have already released an LP this year, but managed to squeeze in another small spooky one before Halloween. Two of these are covers: White Zombie's "Soul Crusher" and a Misfits cover (always appreciate another misfits cover) in "Return of the Fly". The title track "Vaya Con Diablos" is actually a creeping vocal track.
This one's a free download. They do have CDs for sale for a cheap $5. Release date says October 31st but CDs ship Oct 23rd. Yes, that's how you do...Read more
Post date: 10/19/2015 - 07:40
This is the second LP from The Silicon, and it covers a lot of ground. There's some shredders like "Mysterious Island" and the title track "Tiki Tohoa", and some western tracks like "Road to the Ranch", and I pick up a lot of rautalanka and shadows influence on others. They bill themselves on bandcamp as post-Soviet surf-rock and I can't help but think of the Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain compilations. Maybe they should feature on a modern equivalent of that!...Read more
Post date: 10/15/2015 - 07:50
Par Avion clearly love the surf sound, but don't let it get in the way when they have other ideas. "Unchained Melody" has a great Duane Eddy meets modern-surf twang to it and sets the tone well for the rest of the album. But then the song "Par Avion" has a less motivated, more post-punk melancholy to it. Then the next song features a cello, the next one has a great orchestral spaghetti western sound to it, but then there's a pretty straightforward cover of Misirlou.
Basically they're...Read more
Post date: 10/11/2015 - 22:05
I love it when a new release slides into my hands during my radio show. Without more than 3 seconds of screening beforehand, I hit play on "North Bank of Lost River", which starts with an envigorating swell... then loud prominent vocals. It's an instrumental radio show, so I jumped a bit, but I was actually pretty durn excited about the instrumental underneath. When I got a change to listen to the entire thing, I found that the majority of the tracks were still instrumental, and a great...Read more
Post date: 10/11/2015 - 11:07
Ace Records continues their "Birth of Surf" series with a brand new Volume 3, curated by Alan Taylor and Dave Burke of Pipeline Magazine. Like the others, it's a total mix of basic-level surf songs to nearly unheard-of rarities. I'm pleased to see Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Sheba" on there - pretty common if you're digging for 45s, rarely finds its way to compilations,...Read more
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