Surf

New album: Not Yetis || A Cautionary Tale

By / / Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

When I discovered that members of Shitty Shitty Band Band, Hi-Fives, Hondettes, the Ogres and Brentwoods have teamed up for a new musical project, my interest was definitely piqued. Then I read that Not Yetis (Oakland) formed “around the idea of performing a budget rock opera telling the story of mythical creatures taking on human identities in order to escape persecution and eventually seek fame,” and I was somewhere in the middle of curious, worried and confused.

Now that I’ve pressed play on the 26-song (!) A Cautionary Tales my expectations are exceeded. Not Yetis may have dropped their ambition to have the songs presented in a small theater run, but the accompanying record has lasting value. What a diverse, quirky collection infectious, bouncy, surfy pop songs fueled by a DIY 924 Gilman St. punk spirit throughout!

The LP of A Cautionary Tale comes with a comic book that illustrates the lyrics. There are worse, much worse ways of spending your money.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Akulas || Inundated Land

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / 1 Comment

The Akulas are a garage rock band from Belgium, featuring Ruben Haerens (guitars), Willem Bekers (bass), Benjamin Verschaeve (organ) and Udo Vanhoonacker (drums). They play instrumental surf music on vintage instruments, music that’s mostly cool but also cheesy at times, and that’s fine too. On their sophomore LP Inundated Land you’ll hear fourteen danceable tunes that are as original and diverse as they are entertaining and vibrant. Their own songs are just as fun as the covers (Sounds Incorporated’s The Spartans, Krisjan Hatlelid’s Grand Prix Circuit, The Tornados’ Costa Monger, The Shadows’ Bombay Duck and Raymond Lefèvre’s Les Grandes Vacances), and that’s a great achievement.



Inundated Land is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Green Cookie Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Kitty & The Rooster || Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

A pussycat and a cock walk into a bar to make some noise. That sounds like the start of a bad joke, but actually it is the business model of Canadian rock ‘n’ roll duo Kitty & The Rooster. On their debut album One Gig Hard Drive (2018) they introduced themselves in opening song Kitty & The Rooster’s Official Bio (“We’re like The Black Keys, with better tits”), now Jodie Ponto on the stand-up cocktail drum kit and Noah Walker on electric guitar – they share vocal duties – are back with their second long player, Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around. Expect eleven “true tales from the tour van” with explicit lyrics in which pretty cleverly worded humor is key, songs that elicit blushing and loud laughter during live shows (“Just when I was popping my rock n’ roll boner // A man tapped me on the shoulder, told me he was the owner // He said: You need a license for dancing in here // So could you tell all these people to get back in their chairs?”). However, all this is way more than a gimmick – musically the tracks are perfectly fine, an infectious and skilfully played mix of 60s-inspired surf rock and energetic rockabilly, with two voices that go together nicely. This record offers 35 minutes of danceable fun, and if you listen very closely you might even hear a deeper message.



Ain’t Pussyfootin’ Around, recorded & mixed by Corwin Fox, and mastered by Brock McFarlane, is out now digitally and on CD (self-released). Also featuring Jody Peck & Kathleen Nisbet aka The Cockettes on background vocals, and Tom Heuckendorff on organ & piano.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Melewai || Melewai

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

Melewai is a three-piece from Croatia that mix surf rock, garage rock and psychedelic rock into a smooth and exotic cinematic pop sound. Their first four songs, now available as a digital EP, are a successful test of competence. The song titles read like a poem – Now is forever, Dreamer and the cat, Future will be past, Heart on the train – and the groovy music wanders through dreams and time. Shimmering, soulful and summery.

The Melewai EP is out now digitally (self-produced, self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Pelomono || Danza De La Cobra

By / / Garage Rock, Psych, Surf / Leave a Comment

Surf rock can be found on all possible wavelengths. That of Spanish duo Pelomono is on the far left of the dial, where influences from krautrock and sounds from exotic instruments seep through. Although the two musicians are wearing masks on stage, we know that we’re dealing with Antonio Pelomono and Pedro de Dios (Guadalupe Plata). At the end of 2020 they released their nice debut LP Gibraltar, which they now follow up with two new instrumental songs. On side A’s title track Danza De La Cobra (translated: cobra dance) they inimitably fuse electric guitars with a melody from an ancient ritual from India used to charm snakes. B-side Alguien Me Persigue (someone is chasing me) comes from the soundtrack of a film directed by American filmmaker Hulser Haselford, heard in a scene where a monkey flees from a phantom threat. Dark and psychedelic, danceable and bewitching.

Danza De La Cobra, produced by Pike Cavalero and Mario Cobo, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Everlasting Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Jack Cades || Something New

By / / Garage Rock, Jangle Pop, Surf / Leave a Comment

Half a year ago we raved about The Jack Cades’ 45 Something New b/w Chasing You, which left us looking forward to more. The UK garage rock four-piece now adds eleven fresh tunes (including a successful cover of The Velvet Underground’s Temptation Inside Your Heart) to those two songs, which together make up their third LP, which is also titled Something New. We know the musicians – Elsa Whittaker (rhythm guitar, organ, vocals), Mike Whittaker (lead guitar, vocals), Alexandra Cools (bass), Matthew “Mole” Lambert (drums) – from bands like The Missing Souls, The Baron Four, Thee Vicars, The Evil Thingies, Groovy Uncle and The Higher State, but the sound here is less raucous than what they did there. This record is a psychedelic surf trip, with guitars delightfully jangling away. Sun-kissed fun, let the summer begin.




Something New, produced by Ed Gizzard, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Beluga Records / Dangerhouse Skylab.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Beluga || Discogs

New single: The Babalooneys || Winternationals / False Start

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / 1 Comment

Quebec City (Canada)-based five-piece The Babalooneys play instrumental surf rock that proves to be extremely suitable as a soundtrack for old drag race film footage. On their new 45, Richard Bourque (guitar), Jean sirois (guitar), Antoine Pelletier (bass), Martin Dorval (saxophone) and Chany Lagueux (drums), bring you two thrilling tunes: both A-side Winternationals and B-side False Start stand out by original guitar melodies and cool sax passages. Danceable and exciting.

Winternationals b/w False Start, recorded by Samuel Wagner & mixed/mastered by Shorty Poole, is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Hi-Tide Recordings.

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

New album: The Bomboras || Songs From Beyond!

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The Bomboras from Los Angeles, California made some waves in the garage rock world at the end of the last millennium, but after a long time on the sideline they finally dived back into the studio – blood is thicker than water. In the fall of 2021 we could already enjoy The Return Of The Up Up Sound EP, which now gets a sequel with Songs From Beyond! – their first LP in 25 years. It was worth the wait. You’ll hear eleven new surf rock instrumentals that are as refreshing and exciting as ever. They came from afar, but will be welcomed with open arms on the local beach.




Songs From Beyond! is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through MuSick Recordings.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Tridents || Fiat Panda Escape Sequence…..

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Surf musicians usually associate themselves with colorful aliens, futuristic robots, dangerous animals or youngsters in swimsuits, but The Tridents manage to take inspiration from a first generation Fiat Panda, not the coolest automobile ever. We’re talking about Fiat Panda Escape Sequence, the 6-track debut EP from Brighton’s newest surf rock outfit, featuring Kevin Desert (guitar, vocals), Russell Pilfold (guitar), Jamie Hewitt (bass) and Chris Pilkington (drums). Expect 16 minutes of hot chase music in which reverb-drenched surf and original spaghetti western melodies provide a vibrant road trip. Pretty cool nonetheless.


The self-produced Fiat Panda Escape Sequence EP is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Biarritz Boys || Inside Clean Waves

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / 1 Comment

Although Dutch surf collective The Biarritz Boys play live quite often, this is only their second full-length album in their twenty-year existence, that started on the beaches of Biarritz at the time. More than ten years after Come And Enjoy The Hip Slick Super Sexy And Ultra​-​Violent Surf Sound (the four band members may not be modest, but they do have a good sense of humor), they returned to the studio for what has become Inside Clean Waves. Jasper Konijnenbelt aka JapStar (guitar), Miel Hummelink aka O’Miel (guitar), Merijn Coert aka El Merino (bass) and Jeroen Arts aka Ajoen Jeroen (drums) deliver eleven new party tunes, eleven times a sunny and danceable three minutes in the tradition of the groundbreaking tunes of the pioneers of the 60s. You’re up for reverb-drenched instrumentals as they should be, energetic and exciting.



Inside Clean Waves is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Surf Cookie Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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