Surf

The Loose Ends || July 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

There are more wantlist-worthy releases than time to cover them all. Starting this year, Loose Ends is our monthly fix for the great records that slipped through the cracks. Expect a key track and quick take on each release (30+ this month!), and a link to add it to your shelves.

Banda AL9 || Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9
Brazilian power pop duo Banda AL9 —brothers Matheus and Thiago Khouri—released this collection of newly remixed and remastered fan favorites alongside new material on Wicked Cool Records: hook-filled power pop songs that pair Beatlesque melodies and harmonies with youthful energy.

BIG GAINER || Frittiert
This Berlin trio plays noisy slack rock, or should we say sl-egg punk?

…

The Loose Ends || July 2026Read More »

New EP: The Mutant Band || Just Play Rock And Roll

Rockabilly's simplest pleasures still go a long way

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

The Mutant Band is the one-man garage-rock wrecking crew of Barcelona’s Diego Santillán, and his Just Play Rock And Roll EP does exactly what its title promises. Across six lean, fired-up cuts, the multi-instrumentalist tears through a wonderfully scrappy mix of primitive garage rock, psychobilly swagger, and twangy surf riffs, keeping things raw, loud, and gloriously uncomplicated. The chants are every bit as direct as the music (“If you feel so bad // Or you feel so sad // Just play rock and roll”), but that’s precisely the point.

These short tunes aren’t interested in overthinking anything; they’re built on instinct, energy, and the enduring belief that a fuzzed-out guitar and a good beat can solve at least a few of life’s problems. Fast, fun, and refreshingly unpretentious, this is rock ‘n’ roll reduced to its most essential ingredients.


Just Play Rock And Roll is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Babalooneys || Goin’ For It!

Thirteen instrumentals built for cruising, dancing, and repeat spins

By / / Surf / 1 Comment

With their sophomore album Goin’ For It!, The Babalooneys double down on everything that made their debut Late to the Party! such a hit. It’s a sparkling collection of thirteen original surf instrumentals that integrate vintage cool with danceable wizardry, adopting the spirit of the pioneers without sounding like a nostalgia act. On the contrary: the Québec quintet has found its own wave that propels them to great heights, riding on inventive melodies.

In essence, this is about reverberating guitars, rock ’n’ roll saxophone, and a relentlessly tight rhythm section, but this release is much more than that: we are dealing with an insanely skilled band bursting with energy, style, and personality, who have delivered another authentic and creative record packed with hooks and heart.



Goin’ For It!—mixed and mastered by Shorty Poole—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Hi-Tide Recordings. Featuring Richard Bourque (guitar), Jean Sirois (guitar), Antoine Pelletier (bass), Martin Dorval (saxophone), and Chany Lagueux (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Hi-Tide

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of May 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, e.g. as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are—in a kind of random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month—links to pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

The compilation Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow – Words And Music By Tom Waits And Kathleen Brennan was probably the biggest cover release of this period, but we are leaving it out of this overview due to its longer-existing inclusions—there is more than enough brand-new material to choose from.

I’m A Man (The Spencer Davis Group) by Datura4 — from I’m A Man 7″ (Rogue Records)

Song 2 (Blur) by Monk — from No Gods EP (Dine Alone Records)

I’m Waiting For The Man (The Velvet Underground) by The Routes — from Play 10″ [Chaputa! Records / Ghost Highway Recordings]

…

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of May 2026Read More »

The Loose Ends || May 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

There are more wantlist-worthy releases than time to cover them all. Starting this year, Loose Ends is our monthly fix for the great records that slipped through the cracks. Expect a key track and quick take on each release (40+ this month!), and a link to add it to your shelves.

Above Me || Soften The Blows
Debut LP on Dandy Boy Records from this non average dream pop project by Rick Altieri (Blue Ocean, Aluminum).

Big Nothing || Big Nothing
The third album from this indie punk/alt country/guitar pop/classic rock a-bit-of-everything band from Philadelphia just dropped their third album (with a new lineup) on Dead Broke Records. It is another fine slice of warmblooded, bighearted basement pop.

Blitzer || The New Conspiracy
Ten fierce blasts of post-punk on this exciting debut LP from Berlin trio Blitzer. Urgent, tense, and full of forward momentum. Out now through Mangel Records.


…

The Loose Ends || May 2026Read More »

New album: The Krontjong Devils || Music From The Stars Vol 2

Surf guitars between stardust and disco lights

By / / Surf / 1 Comment

For anyone wondering whether there was enough fuel left for a sequel to 2022’s Volume 1, The Krontjong Devils answer with a fearless yes. Music From The Stars Volume 2 continues the Groningen legends’ mission of transporting forgotten and overplayed pop tunes to a twangy surf rock universe where coolness, kitsch, and class are not opposites, and vocals are unneeded.

Eleven songs, including Blondie’s Atomic, Patrick Hernandez’s Born To Be Alive, OMD’s Maid of Orleans, Massive Attack’s Teardrop, Marianne Rosenberg’s Ich Bin Wie Du, and New Order’s Blue Monday, receive the full “Oetsound” treatment, sounding both familiar and strangely futuristic. Once again, the melodies more than hold their own as instrumentals, floating somewhere between retro-style cult movie soundtracks and late-night space disco.



Music From The Stars Vol 2 is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Topsy-Turvy Records. Note: this is the first Krontjong Devils album featuring the original line-up since 1998’s On Tour.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Soundflat

New album: Mick Beaulieu || Nightmare Twang

Riding a retro cult-film vibe

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

Without any fanfare, French musician Mick Beaulieu returns with Nightmare Twang, following 2024’s Seashore LP. Doing what he does best, he lets his guitar do the talking. In the slipstream of pioneers like Duane Eddy, Link Wray, and Dick Dale, he performs ten original surf rock instrumentals that sound as if equally inspired by haunted drive-in movies and sun-bleached California highways.

The album blends reverb-drenched licks and splashing organ melodies with a modern production touch that keeps the sound fresh rather than nostalgic. It’s stylish and energetic, vicious yet playful, a testament to the skill of an artist who makes the stars in the dark sky shine just a little brighter.



Nightmare Twang is out digitally via Crash! Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Kitty & The Rooster || Get The Clap

"Banging on a cock, banging on a cock, banging on a cocktail drum"

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

Remember Kitty & The Rooster? If you’ve seen or heard the human-like animals before, you won’t have forgotten them. On their third album, Get The Clap, Jodie Ponto (cocktail drums, vocals) and Noah Walker (guitar, vocals) go all the way to confirm what makes them such a blast: blown-out rockabilly riffs—they probably call it cockabilly themselves?—and storytelling ripped from the van after a long, underpaid gig.

The Vancouver duo keep things loose but sharp, turning everyday musician struggles into explicit (or ambiguous) punchlines that undoubtedly will guarantee a good laugh during live shows, sometimes with a poignant undertone and often with pop culture references (or in combination: “Fred Durst did all for the nookie // Bryan Adams did it all for love // ​​I did it all, did it all, did it all for a hundred bucks”).

The ten original songs are rough, funny, and weirdly heartfelt, and I actually like them more than I should, but that odd mix of skills and wit lands exactly right. There’s a warm, even intimate charm in this infectious cocktail of 60s surf worship, hip-shaking garage rock, enchanting doo-wop, and seasoned DIY grind (so yeah, I sing along loudly to the final track: “Encore, encore, give me more, give me more!”).



Get The Clap, recorded and mixed by Corwin Fox(!), is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of April 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, e.g. as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are—in a kind of random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month—links to pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

Fade To Black (Metallica) by The Tubs — digital track (Merge Records)

Don’t Look Back (The Remains) by The Peawees — from More Scraps LP (Wild Honey Records)

Problem Child (AC/DC) by Neo-Magics — from Leaving on a Jet Plane EP (Half A Cow Records)

…

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of April 2026Read More »

New album: Playa Colérica || Caleta de la Santa Rabia

Sun-bleached riffs and melodic turbulence

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

If you long for a quiet summer day, avoid Caleta de la Santa Rabia, where the waves are wild and the noise is loud. Leave that to Rancagua, Chile-based surf rock outfit Playa Colérica, to create an imagined South Pacific shoreline where colorful otherness and sunburnt nostalgia collide with untamed energy and extravagant fun. Safe to say, these aren’t the polite kids of surf class, this is the genre cranked to full throttle.

The eleven songs here tap into vintage ’60s instrumental shimmer, but scuffs it up with raw punk urgency, a scrappy DIY spirit, and plenty of infectious shouts. I’ll admit, after the first two cuts I wondered if the four musicians could keep that voltage running for a full album, but they never let it dip. Each tune plays like a vignette, half-memory and half-myth, where guitars crash and glide in equal measure. In short, you can also opt for melodic turbulence this coming summer.



Caleta de la Santa Rabia—recorded by Juan José Sánchez Elizalde, produced and mixed by Francisco Fernández Gallardo, cover art by Marcelo Omegna Bustos—is out now digitally (self-released). Featuring Julio Aguilera Delgado, Michael Sánchez Lara, Ricardo Espinoza González, and Cristian Benítez Cádiz.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Scroll to Top