What is Draculina?

That's been what I and I suspect many others have been asking about this project for a while now. Which is a different question than "Who is Draculina?", though that's a relevant one too. Polina Draculina is a bit of a mysterious character, a bassist from St. Petersburg, Russia, at one point a member of Messer Chups, who has a seductive look in her videos though from seeing her around at Surfguitar101 Festival, seems a bit shy. I ask "what", however, because Draculina as a band is an enigma.

When I first discovered exotica while digging in thrift store bins as a teenager, it kind of blew my mind. I'd never heard of this music, but it was so weird and surprisingly plentiful. Ever since then I was wondering when I was going to see some sort of revival. And sure, there's been some here and there since then, and maybe I just didn't know where to look, but it recently dawned on me that we might be in the midst of one.

The thing with really good bands is that it's almost never just one creative force. The Madeira were a really good band, and though as lead guitarist of the group Ivan Pongracic was sort of the figurehead (Space Cossacks pedigree contributes too!) , I think I've even seen him point out how many songwriting credits go to Patrick O'Connor. In the time since The Madeira cooled down to apparent hibernation, Patrick's been in several garage-pop groups catering to the sci-fi con crowd, most prominently The Shake-Ups (who have been around for twenty years!). But now he (along with some members of The Shake-Ups, lest I ironically single out Patrick as the sole creative force) are back to surf with Thee Leviathans.

In 15 years we've seen many sides of Trabants. Since straightforward surf twistin' on their debut, they've jumped to spaghetti, psychedelics, library, and blues... and then psychedelics again. Last year they released their Mantra 7" which was an absolutely stunning fuzzed-out hazed-out burnout that employed every trick in the 60's psychedelic book to excellent effect. And that was a bit of a hint of things to come as they announced their next LP, Mantra.

2026 is shaping up to be a banner year for instro, and one of the things that makes that possible is not just releases from established surf acts, but breakout LPs from relative unknowns. For example, the debut LP from Finland's The Cruel Seals, who I otherwise only had heard a live EP from in 2022, and I had misread their name to match the song popularized by The Ventures (though originally by The Dakotas).

Despite my 15+ year long radio campaign, surf music has never caught on in New Orleans, and my chances to talk about a local group are rare. In fact, Gitkin is not surf. It's the sort of passport psych* similar to groups like Khruangbin, Glass Beams, and BALTHVS, and it's been working! Once a side project from Brian J Gitkin's role in Pimps of Joytime, Gitkin (as a musical entity) has become a bigger focus, with major festival spots and international tours.

The Babalooneys are keepin' it hot! It's been just under two years since they slipped in with their surf traditionalists' dream LP Late to the Party. And Goin' For It has no intention to mess with a successful formula.

Right off the bat "Waveline" starts with one of those chords that flushes your ears with a feeling. It's a great all-arounder -- upbeat, pretty, with intricate guitar and a little bit of sax to keep things light.

The Desolate Coast's previous album Without a Planet felt like it was destined to be a hidden gem of surf music. While I don't have an issue with calling them "surf music", I found myself thinking "The Cure" more than "Dick Dale". There was a melancholy mood to the record, though not without some explosive pent-up bursts, and a unique approach to a three-guitar attack with a low-mid-high formation.

I get how it can be. As you release more material, you run out of ideas. You fall into what's comfortable and your music sounds routine. You lose the spark of when you first started the band. At least I think that's how it goes. Mark, what's your secret for going in the opposite direction? How come each record is at least 5% better than the last one?

The first Frigidaires album Play it Cool was released on January 1st, 2024, so while we didn't have to wait long for that first good surf record of the year, I wasn't able to give it my full attention as I was consumed with holiday travel and Gremmy Season. Not the case here, though certainly not at an un-busy time (I'm trying my best to keep up with great releases!), Hot Vacation is not only poised before things get too Halloweeny, but it's had time for marinate for those that picked it up early at Surfguitar101 Festival.