After a series of great EPs, The Cavaleros have finally gone and put an album together. If you've been following them this far, nearly all of these will be familiar to you. Heck, half of them are covers, so that might still be the case if you've never heard them. Still, there's reason to be excited, because The Cavaleros are exciting! Their loud and raw sound is fast and punchy and just the right amount of lo-fi. It takes a special breed to do a Link Wray cover that doesn't just make you want to hear the original and The Cavaleros do that twice. Their originals fit in perfectly too.

This is the second LP from Winnipeg's The Catamounts. Though there's plenty here for the guitar nuts among us, there's an equal helping of organ - not the fun, mod go-go kind, but more of a crazed, mysterious, atmospheric kind. So now it's sounding like a horror surf record, and yeah it could probably sit well on your halloween playlist, but they're more about intrigue and mystery - hence covers of The Sicilian Clan and You Only Live Twice. It's not too deep in the fog -- there's a cover of The Wedge that isn't too far off the map.

This is the first LP from Tidal Baby (formerly known as Grimm Futures) seemingly out of Canada? Their label is, and I swear I hear a bit of a Huevos Rancheros twang to them, so that's my guess. 7 instrumentals and one vocal track with a great loud-as-hell guitar sound complimented well by the bass. They crank out a lot of noise for a 3-piece. This is recorded live and I do think that holds them back a bit, but the songs and the sound are solid and it's definitely worth the free download from bandcamp. Looking forward to hearing more from them.

Italy's Surfer Joe Festival is in 15 days, and to commemorate it Urban Surf Kings have put out their 14th release: the live set at the 2015 Surfer Joe Festival, named LIVORNO after the city it's held in. The recording is straight off the mixing board that went to North Sea Surf Radio and features songs spanning their entire double-decade career.

It's been a quiet couple of weeks in terms of surf releases. So while searching for more juicy Thai and Cambodian music in advance of an upcoming vacation, I stumbled upon a killer instrumental record I'd never heard of before.

I've picked up a few Hang-ten Hangmen EPs a while ago and enjoyed the melodies that came through their goofball lo-fi horror sound. Maybe I missed the switch, but this EP seems to have shifted in a more modern trad direction. Not that I didn't like the old version, but the clips I've heard sound like the change has suited them well! It's punchy, bright, bouncy, and well recorded. You can download it from CDbaby here.

This is the debut EP from this powerful Canadian quintet. The Gnarly Ones' aesthetic suggests a metal or punk influence, but this is pretty straight surf, maybe with a mean face on. They've even got a ballad in there with "Pontiac Sunfire", though the rest are loud, pounding, and dangerous. It's very well produced, sounds great when you turn it up, and the saxophone definitelty adds but doesn't overpower.

The Cavaleros are clearly descended from the Link Wray tree of instrumentals, with ragged blown-out guitars and, of course, a Link Wray cover right at the second song - a good one at that. The opening track essentially a cover of the Frantics' Werewolf, and a song that fits their rough attitude well. The real winner here is the one that I believe tro be an original: Chinese Takeaway. When they get to speed the Cavaleros really take off and make a furious racket.

The Green Reflectors are a mean and lean twosome out of Nova Scotia. Earlier this year they released another self-titled LP, which definitely had some strong Flat Duo Jets vibes emanating from it: mean guitar and poundin' drums with a lot of teeth and energy. The main thing that has changed here is the recording: they moved out of the basement and into an actual recording studio.

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 stretch out a bit with added instrumentation for a spaghetti western sound.