Genki Genki Panic stands at an unlikely intersection between Mike Patton, Cave In, John Carpenter, Danny Elfman, surf music, and nerddom. Their own description of this album is that it was supposed to be an epic noise/surf concept album, and it seems it languished and they were like "eh, it's the apocalpyse right now, let's just push it out." Oddly enough, I think it settles into something that feels just about right for this band.

Who would have thought that after 20 years of silence we’d see seminal instro acts of the 90s like Impala and The Bomboras rise from the grave? While I think surf is having a great year right now, it’s slowly changed since the 90’s, probably a little less traditional, or at least allowed a lot more instrumental music styles under its umbrella.

Genki Genki Panic is back after their transformative Spooky Fingers EP. While Spooky Fingers felt kind kind of like a soundtrack, Litanies of Surf is a rock record, dialing back the atmospherics, cranking up the volume and the speed, and keeping the anything-goes approach to their song-writing. Less spooky, but bigger and meaner. Less Danny Elfman, more Man...

Crazy Aces have made a name in the surf world, but I think of them as more of a Ventures-styled band -- more twangy than drippy and focused primarily on melody. If you've enjoyed their previous records, I think you'll be all over "Scorpions", "Rudy's Revenge" and "Chop and Channel". It's hard to pick a favorite among them. Then they try their hand at spaghetti western with "Trail of the Mystery Men" which is much more cinematic sounding than I expect from them. They trade off a steady drum beat for for acoustic strumming, strings and background vocals.

I was really looking foward to a new release from Beninghove's Hangmen; their Rattlesnake Chopper EP was the sort of mix of surf, noise, skronk, free-jazz and who-knows that really got me excited. Unfortunately their new LP, though I've listened to it frequently, doesn't really hang out in surfland enough to fit this website.

While I think it has gotten better in the 2010s, I think it's understated how often poor sound engineering has held back an otherwise decent surf record. What we have here is the opposite story. Genki Genki Panic's previous releases weren't hampered by their production, but "Spooky Fingers" makes an amazing impression in an instant, setting a brand new idea of what this band is about.

Though the Phantom Operators never keep you waiting long for more material, this is the second full-length from the Tennessee-based group. When listening to them, there's one word that comes to mind: desolate. The guitars go on and on, but with a bit of a melancholy and not so much of that California brightness. It fits the desert theme that runs thoughout much of the Phantom Operators' material.

Genki Genki Panic may have already released an LP this year, but managed to squeeze in another small spooky one before Halloween. Two of these are covers: White Zombie's "Soul Crusher" and a Misfits cover (always appreciate another misfits cover) in "Return of the Fly". The title track "Vaya Con Diablos" is actually a creeping vocal track.

This one's a free download. They do have CDs for sale for a cheap $5. Release date says October 31st but CDs ship Oct 23rd. Yes, that's how you do it!

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".

Here in New Orleans I rarely get an opportunity to see the bands I write about, but I was lucky enough to catch Steelism - at a bar with excellent sound no less. Jeremy (electric guitar) and Spencer (pedal steel) were effortlessly masterful at their instruments, and the songs from their 2014 LP "615 to Fame" really came to life.