Sometimes I worry that I lean a little too hard into the sound production quality of an album vs songwriting, but for a band with such apparent surf fanaticism as The Kilaueas it really does feel like it’s the missing piece. The guitar sounds so much bigger and deeper than their previous LP Waki Waki Woo, the reverb so wet and loud enough to fit their stage act.

The Deep are a trio from Germany that, despite the simplistic surf-ish cover, have a lot of big ideas. This is not your 60's surf by a longshot, taking more cues from moodier groups like Bambi Molesters or maybe the Mermen and focusing a bit more on sound than an infectious beat. The result is cinematic, somewhat psychedelic, and a surf record that engages your frontal lobe a bit more than your lizard brain. If you're a fan of the Aussie band The Break then this might work well for you.

Splashdown is when a spacecraft hits the water upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere. When astronauts go from space to surf.  It's a great name for the splashdowns, who mix a semi-trad surf sound with a sense of cosmic wonder and adventure. Think The Spotnicks doing Rocket Man rather than Man... or Astro-man?, with a non-aggressive, thoughtful surf approach and not much reliance on out-there effects. There's a surprising amount of variety too.

Here's a fun project. This is a split LP between Surfer Joe and the Kilaueas, each taking a side on the vinyl version. Most of the tracks on here are covers of The Astronauts, and in a pretty faithful manner (no psychedelic Baja). The few originals are in the style of the Astronauts. For Surfer Joe, that means some deep-ass reverb -- that's the stuff! For the Kilaueas they added another guitarist to mimic the Astronauts' 3-guitar setup.

The Razorblades have been a staple of Germany's instro scene for well over a decade now and I believe this is their fifth LP. Since I hadn't heard a full Razorblades record since Twang Machine in 2009, I was wondering whether they had changed things up a bit, especially since their video for this album featured a pretty significant amount of vocals.

I believe this is the debut EP from Germany's Toxic Mutants. Fittingly, their sound is dirty and growling. It gets especially sludgy on "Formicula" and "Attack of the Killer Funghi", both of which culminate in a satisfying meltdown. Even their most upbeat tune has a dirty rumble to it. This all comes across very well thanks to time well spent in the studio, so that sludge is nice and crisp just how I like it.

Free download on bandcamp!

This debut 7" from the German Quartet Braindead Dogs makes me think: in instrumental music you can attach your music to any kind of imagery. So why not more food rock? This food rock 7" sounds a lot like trad surf with a bright and bouncy sound that I could imagine being pretty fun in a live setting.

I believe this is finding its way to an actual 7" record later, but for now you can grab it on bandcamp.

West Samoa Surfer League has two members of the Space Rangers who released an modern classic with "Ready to Take Off". They seem to like to keep it simple: their album art essentially only changed colors, and just like last time we've got 6 songs (two of which are covers). Their sound is pretty trad surf, with some real nice Astronauts drip on rhythm guitar on "Welcome to Malibu" and "Buhne 16 twist". They tend to lean towards a thunderous walk rather than a screaming sprint. If you were a fan of their last EP, I think you'll need to pick this one up.

The Stingrays aren't hiding it: they're proudly heading straight for a trad 60's surf sound. They even named their album "The First Wave", which I assume to be a reference to that era as much as it is pointing out that it's their first release.

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 got cassette and vinyl copies out there, but you can also listen to it the ol' bandcamp.