With 15 years spent exploring the outer reaches of surf music, Sys Malakian has become one of the Mexican scene’s most distinctive figures. This Greatest Hits compilation offers eighteen exciting tunes drawn from his solo work and various collaborations and bands, including Perro Agradecido, Systilus, Los Atascados, Diego Márquez, Philosurfia, and so forth.
There’s plenty of classic surf rock here (all instrumentals, except for Los Tómbola’s Brebaje De Amor, a cover of Love Potion No. 9 sung in Spanish), but the guitar wizard rarely settles for postcard-perfect beaches: horror, monsters, and mysteries find their way into the mix just as easily as Latin rhythms, mariachi touches, and garage rock energy. It also could have been eighteen other tracks from the musician/producer ‘s discography, but this is a worthy selection for sure.
My taste buds are tickled the hardest by La Última Ola (released by Los Elásticos), Dear Future Husband (with Magnatech), La Pacheca (brand new single by Perro Agradecido), and 12:51 (remastered from 2016’s Drifting With The Tide LP), but actually the entire record plays like a consistently strong showcase.
Greatest Hits—compiled by Madison Mead—is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Another Wave Records. Nice cover art by Carmen O’ Donnell.
Add to wantlist: Another Wave || Bandcamp