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It's another Bandcamp Friday! I was hoping that instead of a round-up I'd have a slurry of reviews to stand in its place. Instead I have three. Since I'm starting this at 1pm on Bandcamp Friday itself I'm going to limit myself to two sentences per entry.
It's been a thrill watching the trajectory of The Surfrajettes. Surprise youtube viral hit, then touring surf conventions, a few 7"s on Hi-Tide, and then a really fun debut LP. That was when I last wrote about them, and I felt that all the statements they needed to make were made, nothing left to prove. But I'm used to writing about bands that live in the surf realm. The Surfrajettes are one of the few legit instrumental surf groups that have managed to move beyond that, going on tours supporting Electric Six and Reverend Horton Heat. They've gotten press outside of surf zines! But that also means stuff matters more, and so they've weathered lineup changes, the stress of actual touring, and these things contribute to something smaller bands don't care about: the threat of the sophomore slump.
I don't think The Rumtones are out here trying to rewrite what Surf is. They're here to play loud, put on a good show, provide some music that will make you feel amped. It works, and if everybody tried to do things differently in surf, there wouldn't be enough of this stuff to enjoy. So I forgive them for the questionable move of having a self-titled record in 2024 when they already had one in 2022. I don't mind that there's a few songs on both records. They're rerecorded and sound better on this one. The old one sounded a little more scummy punk distortion-ey, this one is more clean but with a nice serrated edge to the guitar sound. And it's mastered better and sounds much louder.
Pekka Laine's previous LP The Enchanted Guitar of Pekka Laine is a can't-miss record. The thick layers of reverb and dreamy melodies make for one of the most engrossing listening experiences I've heard in (or at least very nearby to) this genre. The only real complaint I had was that there simply wasn't enough of it. And now there's more.
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