Well, it's not a good thing that I realized at 6:15am that I hadn't written this last night, but maybe the habit will get underway soon. There's a bit less to discuss than last time, so it should be a pretty short one.
Gremmys are still underway, with it taking up most of my listening this past week, and words being written and such.
I REALLY want to thank everybody that signed up for the Storm Surge of Reverb mailing list. While I don't think fifteen subscribers would impress anybody, I looked at it thinking "they're all so beautiful!". I want to remind y'all that the eventual goal is to have that be THE main way to notify y'all of updates.
So if you haven't signed up, please do!
New Releases
The PNW surf scene serves up another winner. This was recorded at No Count studios with Evan Foster, and that Boss Martians influence is palpable. Great capital-S Surf but played fast and extremely punchy. Also reminds me of the Delstroyers, and Mel Woodhaven even plays Rhythm Guitar on two tracks! Best of all, you've got surf superfan Tien Doan doing gang vocals on one track. Easy recommend, and I bet this band will quickly be as name-checkable as the bands I've name-checked alongside it.
Vern Jules and the Aquanauts - Blue Lotus
Vern Jules is one of the bands that I mentally associate with Covid, releasing a handful of good records while we were all cooped up, my favorite being their 2021 releas The Spectre. Very highly-produced sound that isn't too surfy, but stays close enough. It's imaginative and expansive, and heads in a lot of different directions.
Another PNW release (they even shared the same release party with The Von Dwells!) out of Portland, OR. Traditional sound, not as bombastic as the aforementioned band, but strong melodies! Love the art too.
The Wretched Edsels - Puro Americano
This band and The Von Dwells (third mention!) are playing Winter Surf Fest in Long Beach, CA this weekend! Now that this car has appeared on two of their EPs, I've googled to confirm that that car is indeed an Edsel, a since discontinued brand of autombile under the Ford banner. This EP is a bit punchier than their last one, rarely gonig for straight surf but bits of alt-rock, spaghetti western, and road rock if that's a thing.
News
Not much but I got one:
Pi Records Substack
Ryan Hagerty and I must have been psychicly in-tune, as we both launched a more text-heavy side endeavor at roughly the same time. The Pi Records youtube is, frankly, more essential surf resources than what I'm doing and Ryan has been putting an astonishing amount of effort into it for years now. I don't listen to every interview, but I never regret the ones I do. I think this substack is a way for him to, like what you're reading now, get thoughts out there that don't really fit into his videos.
@pirecords?">Take a look
Non-Surf
Zu - Ferrum Siderum
I'm not much of a metal person, but I can be when things are just right. Or in this case, when they're all wrong. Really refreshing take on metal here by this Italian group.
Meaningless Poll
I got a whole zero responses to Ventures vs Shadows, so I'll learn nothing and pose another eternal impossible question.
Link Wray or Dick Dale
Dick or Link
