Man or Astro-man led the charge of a new b-movie punk branch of instrumental surf. That reach extended globally but their crash-landing in Alabama left a radioactive fallout that spawned instro bands within a small radius for years to come. Kill Baby Kill (now The KBK) came along much later, but spilled out of the same crater and stuck around long enough to make an impact on many of us. When I spoke to Chad Shivers, organizer of Southern Surf Stomp, member of the Mystery Men? and currently bassist for The KBK, he told the main reason he joined the band is because it’s meaningful to him and he didn’t want it to go dormant. Kill Baby Kill played the first benefit I ever did for Storm Surge of Reverb and it was better than I could have imagined, so I totally get it.

Cyclist Conspiracy - El Beso de la Muerte

Definitely some ambition in this group. Two of the tracks have a middle-eastern sorta vibe and can be a little more experimental and less rock&roll minded than your average surf group. The tracks that aren't in the East are firmly in the West! The third track (sort of a vocal track) is a goofy approach to a Spaghetti Western sound that really captures the vibe -- I love it. This is their third release and their others seem a little less surf, more psychedelic, but just as pleasing. This one is a free download.