Just a few weeks ago I was listening to The (Fabulous) Wailers' "Tall Cool One" LP and thinking "Why are there not thousands of bands still making this stuff?". I just wanna stomp and twist and dance and leave my music at that!
The Satin Chaps get it! They've got some swingin' organ, honkin' brass, and percussion ready to make you move. Too bad two tracks aren't even enough to work up a sweat, but they're both right on target!
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Los Plantronics are a gift from the Norse gods. Their previous record "Organic Voodoo Soup" was a knockout, but also a bit experimental. Often that means strange and moody, but I really mean it wasn't strictly surf, dipping into soul music, boogaloo etc. Check out the song "Cin-a-Delico" from that album for a surf track that tries to be a whole lot more.
Well, here we are with an album with "Surfing" right there in the title, and though I doubt anybody was worried, I'm here to tell...Read more
The Wrecks House appears to be the brainchild of Leon Daniel, who played for the Monterreys. This is definitely a departure from that sound: much spookier, slower, and mysterious-er with a whole lot of spy sound.Read more
Luau or Die have been a part of the Toronto surf scene for a good while now (there's videos going back to 2009 on Youtube) but for us way far away from Toronto, we can dig this EP. "Dead on the Floor Vol. 1" is comprised of four originals and a cover of "Llorando Se Fue" (I had to...Read more
Recently I talked about how excited I was to hear a new EP from Travelers of Tyme. What I didn't realize at the time (tyme?) was that that was just a prelude to a brand new LP. True to their form, Chronomads is eclectic, mysterious and strange, with all sorts of instrumentation and sounds unique to each song.Read more
Always great to see a surf band with a hefty brass section! Los Coyotes are about equal parts 3rd-wave ska and surf, a combination you don't hear very often. And I think it's working! This is a fun EP, though only 3 songs. Looking forward to hear where a combo like this goes next.
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I like to think that I do a pretty good radio show, but having a surf radio show in New Orleans hasn't really started a movement or anything. I know of only 4-ish surf groups in Louisiana, and that's counting some of them as halves. One of those is Baton Rouge's Rondo Hatton (who I'm 99% sure formed with zero influence from my radio show).
Rondo Hatton started as a side project: each of its members have been on countless Louisiana...Read more
Demon Vendetta's previous LP "Guardians of the Bitter Sea" was absolutely excellent, with one track "Black Skull: Master of the Dark" that will probably be a mainstay on my Halloween show until forever. I had listeners genuinely tell me they were creeped out by it!
So naturally I'm thrilled to see another one. Vigilante Surf is just as savage as the record that came before it. But it takes more than just a mean tone to make a good horror surf record: there's a number of twists and...Read more
The Compadres hail from Ecuador playing fun-in-the-sun trad surf rock. It's got a nice helping of reverb, some nice use of whammy bar here and there, a lil' farfisa, the sound of waves on the shore... all contributing to music for a nice day. While I definitely tend to lean towards the fast and loud songs in most bands, I really think their slower track "Atardecer en la punta" is doing something interesting.
You can give it a listen on bandcamp as well as Google Play, iTunes, Deezer...Read more
Intóxicos have been playing live since 2013 and have finally released their first LP "Vila Velha Todo Dia". It's got a wide range of themes and ideas with solid guitar work throughout. I particularly got a kick out of their attempt to make Intoxica more intoxicated in their self-titled track "Intóxicos".
They've also got a pretty fun pixel art video poking fun at the old California Games video games.
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For those with weak spanish, these 9 songs were recorded live at place named "Pub Interview" in Bariloche, Argentina. So don't expect an interview, expect fast, loud, and chaotic surf tunes. For a live recording everything comes out sounding pretty nice and gives them a rawness that might have been missing from some of their previous material.Read more
Germany's The Coconuts play by-the-books trad surf originals with the exception one of one reggae-influenced track (influenced is the key word, still for surf fans). The slower tunes were just as pleasing to me as the fast ones, with solid guitar melodies throughout backed up by energetic percussion.Read more
The band that mixed the Pennsylvania Dutch with surf has now thrown horror into the mix. Really though, this EP only really goes for the spooky vibes on the title track and "La Culpa", the rest is solid trad surf. They've got physical copies on the way to the manufacturer, but in the meantime you can hear and download the songs on bandcamp
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Expressway Sketches is comprised of a group of accomplished jazz musicians that found themselves falling into a surf rock habit. Which lead to the LP you have here. From the bits that I've heard, it sounds like it should be comfortable listening for a lot of surf fans, with moments where it warps a little and brings you into jazz territory.Read more
Melbourne's Beware! Black Holes have a nice mix of covers and originals here with a classic reverbed surf sound. This is simple trad stuff, just how ya like it.Read more
Marshall and the Martins have a blisteringly fast release cycle going, but please don't stand in the way because it seems to be working. This is the best of their stuff so far, with clean but punchy production and great variety. If they're going for something fun and bouncy, it bounces, if it's slow and creepy like the title track, it creeps. It sets out what it wants to do and the results and satisfying!
On a side note, since we last posted about Marshall and the Martins, their...Read more
The name Aquaholics rings a bell for me, but I can't decide whether it's this band or the still active Dallas-based band. The description on their bandcamp page reads
"Recorded @ Sonic Iguana. Mastered by Mass Giorgini
The band started in 2006. Uploaded for upcoming 10 year anniversary. The band broke up before the album was ever finished or pressed."
That...Read more
A tsunami... of panties... the imagery....
Panty Tsunami has a good mix of quick dangerous songs and slower, dare I say sexier songs. Including a cover of Angelo Badalamenti's "Wild At Heart". There's even a sort of country influenced track "Red Sky".Read more
Though this is the first time they've hopped onto my radar, Greaser's Garage is Melvin and the Creepers' 2nd LP. Inside you'll hear some gritty and tough instrumentals with some wild squeals and occasional fuzz. Pay as you want on bandcamp
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The Phantom Operators have been cranking out songs like mad. This time we're in the desert, at least for two songs. Expect an unfriendly, shady sound on this one. And if you like it, they're pay-as-much-as-you-wantRead more
