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...Read more
Reviews
Post date: 05/18/2016 - 07:16
This live set from SEAWHORES shows a pretty trashy-trad surf sound with a party-ready rock & roll edge. There's some cool saxamaphone in there in there too that gets buried in the lo-fi mix. There are, I think, eight originals on here and they're all well arranged and powerful. I'm a big believer that a lo-fi live recording will always trump a poorly done bedroom recording, but with a full range of well-developed songs like they have here, I wanna hear 'em with a studio treatment - so...Read more
Post date: 05/17/2016 - 08:12
The last Gasolines LP was in 2008, but they're still as genre-twisting as they were when they left off. Plenty of bands have had jungle-themed surf albums, but this one sticks to it closely, even if they do it in a broad and multi-faceted way. The title track is the pure Martin Denny sound the cover aludes to, but you'll also hear Peruvian chicha on "La Danza de los Mirlos" and "Catamarã", reggae on "Rockers Rock", and interesting latin/South American percussion throughout. It's this sort of...Read more
Post date: 05/17/2016 - 07:24
Odicolon presents an interesting question: why is horror surf so heavy? They do creepy with a light touch with an easy tempo, sparse chilled out guitar picking and oddball electronics. They bring a lot of interesting sounds and ideas to the table and just about all of them work really well. Fans of Messer Chups should certainly take notice, but I hope these guys find a following of their own.
All I've found on these guys is the bandcamp page (free download!), if you find CDs please...Read more
Post date: 05/09/2016 - 07:20
Moussaka is a surf group that covers modern Balkan 80's pop hits and features a member of Threesome. So a cover band in which I will likely never recognize the source songs. Despite their pop origins the songs end up pretty aggressive, though even still pretty unique experimenting with different time signatures etc. If you've kept up with Moussaka so far, this one isn't that much different, but that's perfectly fine. Free download,...Read more
Post date: 05/08/2016 - 22:58
A few weeks ago Amphibian Man released his 4th LP in the span of a year called "Pyramids". In 2016 he has released something nearly every month, and surprisingly they even seem to improve. During that span of time, he has gone from somebody that piqued my interest to "who the hell is this guy???". So I figured maybe I should just send him an email.Read more
Post date: 05/05/2016 - 07:42
It's real! Belgium's finest have released their first full-length in 12 years! And it's a self-titled too, which honestly makes me a little uneasy. I often feel like a self-titled is a statement of a new sound, new direction, and that would be very understandable after such a long absence. What form are they taking here?
Your fears are unfounded. This is Fifty Foot Combo with swirling organs, aggressive guitars, furious bongos, tribal rhythms, even a little theremin all present and...Read more
Post date: 05/04/2016 - 08:24
The Me Gustas have shrunk from 3 to 2 members between their last LP and this EP, but it doesn't show. They've doubled down on the spaghetti westerns, and that solitary feel fits a guitar-and-drums combo pretty well. Though short, it's got a fun spirit to it and 50% of your purchase of the EP goes to the organization Guitars Not Guns.Read more
Post date: 05/03/2016 - 15:32
The latest release from Cincinnati's AmpFibians is a big step forwards from their their previous album Surf Guitar Heard Round the World. Purely in terms of production it's much more, well, produced. It has that expansive effect-laden sound that brings out a Mermen vibe that I think was always trying to come out of this band. That especially comes out on the first track, but they have a bit more fun than the spacey Mermen typically do - getting pretty silly on "Wolf...Read more
Post date: 05/02/2016 - 07:21
The Volcanics aren't the most celebrated band on the Double Crown roster, but they're one of the most solid. While the mailman hasn't brought this one to my doorstep just yet, from Double Crown's descriptions this sounds like more of the same. More of the same means killer trad instrumentals that hit the sweet spot of testosterone and melodic sensibility sitting next to some great upbeat garage tracks. Not to mention I've always thought the production quality on their records hits just the...Read more
Post date: 04/14/2016 - 14:56
Hypnotzar's debut EP late last year was a welcome surprise and I'm glad we didn't have to wait long for more. Nearly all parts of this record were done by Lev Kuchinsky, but it hardly sounds like a bedroom project and each part is distinct and interesting. "Thermodynamist" has some great interplay between guitar parts and the desolate "Cold Streams of Taiga" has an awesome sense of dread to it. And then we get two really fun covers of songs by At The Gates and Electric Wizard. Ironically for...Read more
Post date: 04/08/2016 - 10:12
The well-loved but tough-to-find "Monster Surfing Time" by the Deadly Ones is finally seeing a vinyl rerelease courtesy of the Concord Records - from what I can tell its first since 1964 when Vee-Jay originally released it. A mint copy of this sells for around $200, with VG copies going for $50, so this should be much easier. This reissue will feature translucent slime green vinyl to add to the horror. Not much is known of the players on this one other than Joe South, but it's a must-play...Read more
Post date: 04/08/2016 - 09:55
The Razorblades have been a staple of Germany's instro scene for well over a decade now and I believe this is their fifth LP. Since I hadn't heard a full Razorblades record since Twang Machine in 2009, I was wondering whether they had changed things up a bit, especially since their video for this album featured a pretty significant amount of vocals.
...Read more
Post date: 03/27/2016 - 09:46
For such a populous part of the world, it's REALLY hard to find a Chinese surf band (I'm counting Taiwan). Los Coronados are particularly interesting though, perhaps more than meets the eye. These guys claim that they are actually Los Coronados Jr., the grandsons of the original Tawianese surf band Los Coronados back in 1965. This is supposedly the digitized reel-to-reels of their original 1965 recording.
I don't buy it.
It DOES sound very traditional: very simple surf setup,...Read more
Post date: 03/23/2016 - 07:54
Vermont isn't a place that I think of as a surf hotspot. Maybe that's why The High Breaks play the brand of no-frills trad surf that they do: because somebody has to. 10 tracks of surf originals with a strong, bold guitar sound and some great melodies. While most of the record is bright, sunny stuff, I was actually surprised how well they pulled off their few moments of creepiness on "Ankle Breaker" and "Voodoo Wave". I'm glad they went with the sound that they did, but I'm thinking of the...Read more
Post date: 03/21/2016 - 07:57
The Lucianos are comprised of members of big-time sychobilly bands Demented are Go and The Astro-Zombies (side note: the Astro-Zombies have a few instrumentals tucked away in their records that are pretty cool!). This is their first release and it's being put out by Killjoy Records as a vinyl 7" and cassette. They classify themselves as powersurf and indeed "Think Twice Before Cheating" is relentlessly fast and builds to a powerful crescendo. You can order it from...Read more
Post date: 03/21/2016 - 07:41
If you've never taken the time to look into the late 90's surf group Jonny and the Shamen, here's a great way to do it: everything they've ever recorded plus a few unreleased tracks shoved into one $10 bundle. Their music is hard-hitting surf with horror/space/spy themes not unlike early Man or Astro-Man? - close enough that Jonny joined them as Victor Vector. More recently, he was a part of the...Read more
Post date: 03/18/2016 - 07:33
When I saw that this Ventures record was being reissued I thought "I'd never seen that one". That's because it's an alternate edition of the "Mashed Potatoes and Gravy" record they put out.
That explains the tuber-centric tracklist on this supposed beach party album:
- ...Read more
Post date: 03/15/2016 - 07:54
Christian Targa plays for the punk band Blind Pigs who have been around since the 90s, and he certainly didn't leave his punk influence behind; my first thought on the opener "Abdução" was Dead Kennedys. Those first three tracks all have a great sense of panic and terror before cooling down a little bit into the more anthemic "Aos Amigos", which still retains a punk guitar tone while ditching the attitude. He doesn't really slow down entirely until "Nova Lua", a nice closing track. I know...Read more
Post date: 03/12/2016 - 11:44
The Apaches hail from Arizona and a bit of open-air desert sound definitely creeps into this. Sure, it's definitely surf and not spaghetti western or anything, but it tends to deal in solitude more than it does in adrenaline. I believe all of these are original compositions and they have a good sense of when to play pretty ("Grim Fandango" is a good example) and when to punch ("Space Chase"). Download is on bandcamp and by the looks of their...Read more
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