Arizona's The Coconauts are back with their second LP. It's been a while since I last sat down with their album Get Coco-Naughty, but this one seems creepier and spacier. It's also a bit more focused as an album, with several interstitial bits to accentuate the creepy, spacey feel. Looks like the tracks from their EP I Drove My Car to Heaven found new version on this one as well. I've barely given this album a full listen, but standouts are...Read more
Reviews
Post date: 09/01/2015 - 07:26
The Exotics have two LPs under their belt: 1996's Go Go Guitars and 2009's The Lost Room as well as a few EPs. A retrospective album like this works in a time sense at over 20 years, but it's still pretty easy to pick up the complete collection too. Their bandcamp says this has a few new and remixed tracks, but I haven't figured out which ones those are. I think that mystery will likely be solved with this gets its physical release on CD and vinyl...Read more
Post date: 09/01/2015 - 07:09
I've had this one for a few weeks now and have already reviewed it, but the latest Madeira release just became available to purchase from Double Crown. The very quick version: it's another...Read more
Post date: 08/26/2015 - 17:21
From what I can tell this is the first release under the Surfaris name since 2005's Wipe Out (which seems to be a completely different version from the 60's version we all know). The lineup here includes original guitarist Bob Berryhill. Haven't been able to dig up information on any other members, but this doesn't include Jim Fuller.
This was recorded live at Hurley studios (as in the clothing line) with a track listing of a bunch of surf standards. Surprisingly, I think "Point Panic...Read more
Post date: 08/17/2015 - 08:25
Double Crown had been teasing a mystery EP in a few of their newsletters and I confess I had no clue. It turns out it was a new outfit with Sean Berry, Mr. Double Crown himself, in the lineup! He's joined by Jonny Browning of Jonny and the Shamen/MOAM and Hollis Pilling. It's a modest collection of songs, not terribly loud or aggressive, more quirky and creepy, but the MOAM lineage definitely comes through. Three of the tracks are originals, but I actually really like their take on the...Read more
Post date: 08/16/2015 - 08:15
The Turbosonics have been around for a while now and have a number of live recordings up on their bandcamp, but I believe this is their second full LP. While the heart of their sound is fuzzed-out, gritty and rockin', this LP is pretty well-rounded with the cool, slow number "Frozen Surf", and the total oddball "Meat Slicer from Outer Space" that had me checking that I wasn't still listening to the...Read more
Post date: 08/16/2015 - 08:00
Based on their facebook presence, Arizona's The Apaches haven't been around for too long, but they've got one EP to show for it. This EP has 4 originals, pretty straight-ahead surf perhaps with a bit of a lonely desert vibe.Read more
Post date: 08/16/2015 - 07:50
I still wasn't done enjoying Oskar Benas' solo release from this year Hereje Del Mar (which apparently I never made a post about) but we've already got this release from his full combo. While surf typically puts you on the seashore, Oskar's music points me towards the jungle as its getting dark. It's creepy-crawly, strange...Read more
Post date: 08/11/2015 - 18:37
You gotta be careful looking for surf rock on Burger Records. They're home to an awful lot of the bands that are muddying up the term. You know, garage bands with a lot of reverb on the vocals, stuff derived from Wavves, Black Lips etc. And right from the first track one might think that's the case here, with summery girl-group-garage sing-a-long vocals, but I urge you to stay! The next track is "Swedish Fish", a rippin' surf instro with punchy, splashy percussion free of pretention and all...Read more
Post date: 08/11/2015 - 08:26
Wow! It's been 7 years since Atomic Mosquitos released their last LP Meltdown, and I've played that one an awful lot in the meantime. I was curious what Bug Music for Bug People was going to sound like. I seem to remember an email a long time ago where they told me that they weren't as happy with Meltdown as I was, and really what CAN you expect a band to sound like 7 years later?
Well, from what I've heard so far I'm pleased....Read more
Post date: 08/11/2015 - 07:30
When Os Brutus released their last EP, I concluded by saying I was looking forward to hearing more of them. I didn't have to wait long! Os Brutus have a great dirty tone to them but stay solidly within the surf realm. Some of the tracks from their EP have made it onto this one, but with a full album they get to breathe a little bit...Read more
Post date: 08/06/2015 - 07:42
Well, sometimes my all-seeing surf eye doesn't see things when they come out. And I think I'd be remiss to not mention them anywhere on the site, so we're playing catch-up here.
Surfin' Beards - Surfin' Beards
Sleazy Records rarely steers you in the wrong direction. This is a self-titled 7" (vinyl) with an accompanying CD totaling 8 songs. Love that vintage-styled cover art by...Read more
Post date: 08/05/2015 - 08:17
This EP found its way into the word via a great viral video of a jarring way to wake up in the morning.Read more
Post date: 08/05/2015 - 07:07
OK I think the pun here is that normally Huckleberry Finn has Two N's, whereas this band has one making them sea creatures. I don't know a whole lot about these guys, other than that they seem to have been playing shows around NY state for one or two years now. They've got the full range of purchasing options available: LP, Cassette, CD, and digital download. You can any of those from their...Read more
Post date: 08/05/2015 - 06:54
The Tiki Creeps' debut last year was definitely a standout, so I'm glad they've kept that momentum up by releasing a followup. They haven't shaken up the formula much: a solid mix of cool low-tempo numbers (perhaps the tiki part of their name) and a few with the guitars howlin'. "Ride Creeps Ride" is actually a bit of a twistin'...Read more
Post date: 08/02/2015 - 08:59
Ever since they released the video for Tunak Tunak Tun on Youtube over a year ago, I've been getting more and more excited for the release of The Tomorrowmen's new album. Looks like tomorrow became today hur hur. Their Double Crown Records debut "It's About Time" was the exactly the sort of forward-thinking brand of instro that keeps this genre alive. It's immediately apparently that that spirit was kept intact on Futourism, and that a tremendous amount of thought and love was poured into...Read more
Post date: 07/31/2015 - 13:44
We've got four songs from the sci-fi horror group the Hithcocks, absolutely drenched in reverb, complete with some echoey and ominous synthesizers and spooky ghastly voices. They choose darkness over speed, with most of these songs finding more of a zombie-shuffle pace. Dig the retro sci-fi video then give it a spin on bandcamp
...Read more
Post date: 07/31/2015 - 13:33
Well here's something else for ya. Surfin' Krautlifornia is an odd mix of synthesizers, sound effects, psychedelic meanderings, and strange thoughts standing on a foundation of surf guitar bubbling underneath. With an airplane, a storm trooper, graffitti, and a cool-lookin' dude wearing shades on the cover, I'm not even going to try to piece together what they're after. Maybe it's just to get you to approach this thing with some curiosity.
Apparently they've...Read more
Post date: 07/31/2015 - 13:24
With a name I don't look forward to ever pronouncing, Los Antideslizantes have released a nice four-song EP here. While not straying too far from the well-known surf sounds, they manage to capture a mood until themselves. It's easy-going but not boring, and the use of the trumpet (in very appropriate amounts) is refreshing.Read more
Post date: 07/30/2015 - 08:07
This is the first I've heard of Appalachian Surf Team but they've been around since at least 2013 and seem to have honed their craft pretty well by now. A live album suits them well; this album is bristling with energy and it sounds like a ton of fun even with a bit more crowd chatter picked up than you normally hear on a live record. In fact, it's pretty great when you hear one of the women in the crowd talking loudly lose her marbles when they launch into their supercharged cover of "Eye...Read more
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