This EP is Dirty Fuse's first with their new guitarist after their previous guitarist went Back to Brazil. I'd still say this sounds like the Dirty Fuse we're familiar with, but I can only say that because they're an adventurous group and change is expected. There's still prominent saxophone, there's a great sense of depth to the sound - partially nice recording, but the bass definitely rounds it out as well. "Evolution" starts it out as a pretty aggressive number, but you get a lot more chilled-out with "Back to Brazil" and "Wonderland" which are nice-n-easy sunny day tracks. 

I'm under the impression that The 427's EP Surf Noir got a bit of a attention in surf circles, and I don't doubt that they'll find an audience with their first full-length Mavericks. They've got a pretty trad sound with two guitars, bass, and drums, but the arrangements and riffs are all very catchy and memorable. On one listen, "Fake Betty", "Night of the Living Surf" and "Urchin Stomp" were standouts. On "Yellowbelly" and "The Blue Cactus" they stretch out a bit with added instrumentation for a spaghetti western sound.

This one has been available for streaming for a while, but like so many others their vinyl 10" got stuck in an enormous backlog. But the wait is over, and you can now spin these songs on your turntable. Balu & die Surfgrammeln have a pretty trad, upbeat surf sound interspersed with a lot of vintage audio clips. I love the bounce in "Der Zerfall Von Backerbsen" and the percussion in their version of Comanche.

And of course, gotta love that great Shawn Dickinson artwork.

You can order it from Green Cookie or through bandcamp.

Here's something a little different. Black River Manifesto take a slow, noisy approach to surf. It's pained and dischordant, at times maybe even a little jazzy (the upright acoustic bass helps there), and sometimes bluesy (their last EP was a lot bluesier).

The Illumignarly come out swinging with the quick and powerful track "Beeriodic Table of Sharks" but as you get a little further into that you hear a moment of spaciness that hints at the couple of prog elements that come out in "Neo Rubicon" and "Cannibal Castration" (a vocal track). "Tall Can" and "Dude I Like Your Shredder" are 100% surf rock shredding material. This is a pretty impressive EP with a lot of ideas in it and a whole lot of oomph.

Russia's The Sloptones know how to make a Halloween EP; they released a good one last year. But despite the Halloween release date, they went in the opposite direction this time with a dialed-down quiet record. No wall-of-sound here, drums kept to a level that won't bug the neighbors, and bass designed to keep your foot tapping but legs otherwise at rest.

Despite the near-Halloween relaese date, this isn't much of a horror-surf record, though it does have an air of mystery to it. Man... or Astro-Man? is definitely a bit of a jump-off point here with with similar dark tones, sound clips, and "extra" sounds abound (one member plays "extra guitar", percussion and keyboards). But all of those parts come together really well and with a lot of creativity. I think this is definitely worth a listen!

Despite the near-Halloween relaese date, this isn't much of a horror-surf record, though it does have an air of mystery to it. Man... or Astro-Man? is definitely a bit of a jump-off point here with with similar dark tones, sound clips, and "extra" sounds abound (one member plays "extra guitar", percussion and keyboards). But all of those parts come together really well and with a lot of creativity. I think this is definitely worth a listen!

In time for Halloween, The Coffin Wheels have given us three dark n' dirty instrumentals. "Astroy all Destromen" is the fastest, followed by two creepier ones. Good horror surf with some punchy metal-styled drumming. You can stream it on bandcamp, but perplexingly you'll have to shell out $10 for this 3-song EP: more than their LPs! EDIT: Much more devilish price now

I should have realized that the reason I hadn't seen many surf releases recently was because they were being saved up for October 31st. Though The Baffles weren't really a horror-surf band on their last album, this release is largely comprised of covers of popular horror themes.