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.

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 of the Tiger".

The last EP from Los Blue Marinos was back in September of 2014 and it was pretty solid. This one's been out for about two months now and there's even more to be excited about. This is still a very trad surf sound but with an even better momentum than before. The musical thoughts behind these songs are really concise and focused, helping them really stick in your head.

Based on their barely started facebook page, this record is a "Hello World" moment for the Lurids. For coming out of nowhere, it's surprisingly well put together. The Lurids have a bit of an ominous tone played over aggressive instrumentals with a good bit of punch to them. Give it a listen.

At last the debut album from Boss Fink, featuring members of the Ghastly Ones, Thee Cormans, and The Huntington Cads -- definitely some A-list pedigree. They had a great 7" out on Double Crown last year that confirmed what we had hoped out of them, but I think everybody was *really* waiting for the full length. Wait no longer! From what I've heard this is a pretty straight-ahead trad sound but plenty aggressive and mean. Here, watch some youtube

If you've listened to my show enough you've probably figured out that I've got a thing for Peruvian chicha music, and the similarities to surf rock should be apparent enough that that wouldn't be surprising. I find it amusing that while there's some great surf in Peru, the bands that seem most faithful to the sound appear to be everywhere else.

This looks like the first record in about 5 years from the masters of moody surf The Aqua Velvets, and if you were already a fan you should feel right at home. If you're new to them, expect slow, perhaps lonely surf guitar with flamenco touches, sparse percussion, and still plenty of reverb. I'd put them close to a band like Friends of Dean Martinez but still on the surf side. Big Lazy sound similar as well, but the Aqua Velvets predate them significantly.

When you're always on the lookout for surf groups, it helps to have a good gut feeling for them based on the name of the band and album, maybe even the songs. That's true for both the new stuff and the vintage stuff. The Baltic Side would have failed that test: The band name doesn't sound surf, "Hope" isn't really something I associate with surf, neither are song titles like "Believe", "Pilgrim", and "Rainbow". Nothing wrong with those names, they just don't register as a blip on my surf radar.

I love Jean Claude Van Damme, so I want to thank Timecop Beach Party for linking him to the surf world via his movie Timecop. But putting the King of Kicking aside, this album came outta nowhere and surprised me. Timecop Beach Party play fast and their tone often dips into pretty heavy territory, but the overall mood is fun and light-hearted. I really think it all comes together especially well in their song "Set Phasers to Chill". Give it a listen for yourself 

Throughout his work in Stef & Arno, Antena Tres, The Irradiates, and Arno De Cea & The Clockwork Wizards, Arno de Cea has proven himself to be one one hell of a psycho, frantic, and all around excellent guitar player. At some point calling it "surf rock" sounds too leisurely, not desperate enough, no matter how big the imaginary wave. From the very first note of "Bug Terminal" it's loud, huge, bold, and so hyperactive that I struggle to come up with some sort of activity that this would be suitable for. Catastrophe rock? Apocalypse rock?