I was a fan of The Twang-o-Matics' Fretboard Mojo but they really let loose on their new LP Rock Havoc! The cover alone suggests a collision of surf sounds and spaghetti western, but there's also moments of the jungle, arab-esque themes, and it's hard to not think rockabilly with that stand-up bass sound. It's meaner, faster, angrier, and packs a bigger punch. Some of this might be from the stellar production (maybe they got some tips from their countrymen Los Plantronics?).

Henchmen have it tough, so I appreciate that they found the time and space in their employer's lair to form a band and let off some steam. They've got a pretty dark twang going throughout that sets up a big vibe of mystery and evil. I mean I'm really buying this as a henchman sound, right down to the feeling of oppression - "Nikola Tesla Theme" even starts out with a bit of a march. The winner of the bunch to me is "Worthy Adversary" with its harsh buzzing and forboding trumpet buildup. Worth checking out if you're into the spy sound!

Perhaps you can tell by the name, but Men from S.P.E.C.T.R.E are pointed in a global syndicate of evil direction than rather than southern California. If you didn't figure that out, then you need to watch Goldfinger. But what I really mean by that is you can expect plenty of organ with your guitars, and a swanky mod beat. Not so much John Barry, closest cousin I can think of is Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited. It's a sound I'd like to hear more of, and they pull it off according to plan. SPECTRE wins this time.

We've got four songs of rough and raw surf here, all new tracks. As a live EP, the production quality takes off some of the crispy edge that was on their self-titled EP, but it's still fast and fun. I'm hoping we can hear some of these on an LP in the future

Arizona's The Coconauts are back with their second LP. It's been a while since I last sat down with their album Get Coco-Naughty, but this one seems creepier and spacier. It's also a bit more focused as an album, with several interstitial bits to accentuate the creepy, spacey feel. Looks like the tracks from their EP I Drove My Car to Heaven found new version on this one as well. I've barely given this album a full listen, but standouts are the great interplay between guitarists on "Re-Entry" and "Black Hole".

The Exotics have two LPs under their belt: 1996's Go Go Guitars and 2009's The Lost Room as well as a few EPs. A retrospective album like this works in a time sense at over 20 years, but it's still pretty easy to pick up the complete collection too. Their bandcamp says this has a few new and remixed tracks, but I haven't figured out which ones those are.

I've had this one for a few weeks now and have already reviewed it, but the latest Madeira release just became available to purchase from Double Crown. The very quick version: it's another Madeira album, of course it's great, ya dingus. But if you need more convincing they've got a few songs up on their website.

From what I can tell this is the first release under the Surfaris name since 2005's Wipe Out (which seems to be a completely different version from the 60's version we all know). The lineup here includes original guitarist Bob Berryhill. Haven't been able to dig up information on any other members, but this doesn't include Jim Fuller.

Double Crown had been teasing a mystery EP in a few of their newsletters and I confess I had no clue. It turns out it was a new outfit with Sean Berry, Mr. Double Crown himself, in the lineup! He's joined by Jonny Browning of Jonny and the Shamen/MOAM and Hollis Pilling. It's a modest collection of songs, not terribly loud or aggressive, more quirky and creepy, but the MOAM lineage definitely comes through. Three of the tracks are originals, but I actually really like their take on the Ventures' VampCamp where they've sped it up to a less creepy tempo. Sounds like a new song!

The Turbosonics have been around for a while now and have a number of live recordings up on their bandcamp, but I believe this is their second full LP. While the heart of their sound is fuzzed-out, gritty and rockin', this LP is pretty well-rounded with the cool, slow number "Frozen Surf", and the total oddball "Meat Slicer from Outer Space" that had me checking that I wasn't still listening to the Oskar Benas album I had just made a post about.