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.

Though they've been playing shows for a good while now, I believe this is the first release from this Italian trio (with an occasional 4th member joining for the trumpet). They have made it clear on their album and their facebook page that you should not follow the coyote, which I assume means you will fall off a cliff and into the Grand Canyon. I wonder if this is the famous roadrunner-chasing coyote. As for the actual music, trad surf with a sense of humor. A lil' bit of shredding in "Exotica" and a bit more of a striptease sound on "Yes Master" but it's pretty bright and upbeat throughout.

Noooo! Guys, you're too late to be included in the Best Album Art Gremmy! In any case, the cover art is a pretty good representation of the music inside: it's loud, fast and frantic, but also pretty silly, with some weird noises and instruments thrown into the mixture. The simple word for it is FUN. It's got serious force behind it but it doesn't wield it so seriously. Definitely worth a listen!

I missed the debut album from this Italian quintet, so this took me by surprise. Diabolico Coupe play modern-traditional surf with sax and for the most part stick to the straight-and-narrow surf sound: no spy, Western, etc. That's fine, because they're very good at it. The guitars trade off between each other well enough to the point where I found myself tuning in and out of different guitar parts, listening to different layers of the sound.

I enjoyed Les Agamemnonz's debut 10". It had a good trad sound, a lot of very drippy reverb and a somewhat restrained energy that worked out well. They keep that up with Au Revoir, though they expand a bit. "Vulkanizer" (which really masters the thud from the Astronauts' "kuk") and "El Tremblador" are a bit more menacing than I remember from this band, and they pick up a wild west sound on the last three tracks. Tickling one of my favorite spots is "Tre Grazie", a great take on the Peruvian chicha sound.

Everything that The Tremolo Beer Gut has released so far has been quality from start to finish, and this is no exception. This is a live album, all one take or as their drummer put it to me "All is recorded on the same night and all we recorded ended up on the LP". And it sounds exactly like a live album ought to: crisp, all parts audible, energetic, and with the sound of the room clearly audible. They all sounded pretty faithful to the album versions to me, except with more hootin' and hollerin' from the crowd and the band.

B11 have a playful, experimental approach to surf, with an almost jazzy atmosphere to it. The wonky, showy guitar licks remind me of Double Naught Spy Car or even Shadowy Men. They pick up a bit with a more traditional surf song at the end with the title track "Surf My Spy". Give it a listen-see.

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.

This one has actually been floating around as a vinyl and CD release for a few months now, but it wasn't clear to me where your average internet-surfin' joe could get it. That answer is now free on bandcamp.

Los Freneticos' previous LP "El Playa" was a great little surf album with plenty of nice tunes, but I didn't see a hint that they were heading towards something as ambitious as this. The description on their bandcamp page calls this "a lesson that reviews the A to Z of contemporary surf rock sound" (translated) and they certainly do make an effort towards that. I believe Los Freneticos are a quintet, but they frequently stretch out a bit further than that with an extensive cast of guest musicians playing flamenco, pedal steel, trumpets etc.