Surf

New EP: The Currie Brothers || The Curse Of The Currie Brothers

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

I found quite a bit of nice surf rock in my listening pile this week, but nice isn’t good enough to bother you. New EP The Curse Of The Currie Brothers is a different story though, because with these six instrumental songs I can vividly imagine how the audience will go wild on it in a sweaty pub. Original, raucous tunes, delivered with passion. We’re talking about Andrew Currie (guitar) and Rob Currie (guitar) – hence the band name – who, together with Seamus Saunders (bass), Jared Davis (drums, percussion) and Kristian Noel Pedersen (keyboards), give the surf genre a trashy garage punk twist, and that works out very well. Dirty and dangerous, definitely worth sharing.


The Curse Of The Currie Brothers is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: The Other Timelines || Doubleshot: Volume 1

By / / Surf / Leave a Comment

After a hiatus of about ten years, time-travelling vehicle The Other Timelines are back to the future with a brand new two-song digital single under the appropriate title Doubleshot: Volume 1. We’re talking about the surf ‘n’ spy supergroup based out of the Pacific Northwest, featuring Jonny Browning (primary guitar, percussion), Jim Wilder (secondary guitar, sitar, bass), Sean Berry (bass) and Hollis Pilling (keyboards) – names you may know from bands like Man or Astro-Man?, The Mystery Men, The Toga Kings and Sound of Humans. Both tracks, Unsafe At Any Speed ​​and Public Access ’66 Theme, are cinematic instrumentals with original guitar and organ melodies that are exciting and danceable.

Doubleshot: Volume 1 is out now digitally via Double Crown Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pointbreak || Ming Dynamite

By / / Funk & Soul, Surf / Leave a Comment

Dublin’s instrumental surf rock outfit Pointbreak have three EPs to their name, but they’re celebrating their tenth anniversary with their first full-length album, Ming Dynamite. Stefano Vita (guitars), Mark Corry (bass), Simon Wall (sax, flute) and Conor Murray (drums) come from the jazz, funk and rockabilly scenes, and they have performed countless live shows – those influences and experience make that they stand out from their peers. The eleven tunes here – opening track Tiger Hour in two versions – have a classic surf sound as a foundation, but swinging elements of garage, jazz, funk and psychedelia are built on top of it, in which a screaming sax competes for cheers with twangy Fender guitars. Although the music itself already exudes a cinematic feeling, spoken soundscapes enhance this even further. Raucous but dosed, and as original and explosive as the colorful cover art.



Ming Dynamite, recorded & mixed by Stefano Vita, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Surf Cookie Records. Also featuring Franck Bourjini (keys) and Pablo Caderno (theremin) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Por Ella Runners || Yeeeeee!

By / / Garage Rock, Power Pop, Surf / 1 Comment

Having a Spanish band sing a song in heavily accented English titled Magere Hein (the Dutch name for the Grim Reaper)? Definitely a head-scratcher. But the song is a blast, and that goes for all seven tracks on The Por Ella Runners’ new mini-album, Yeeeeee!

It’s the band’s first release in twelve years. But what’s a dozen trips around the sun when you’ve been making music together since high school in the ’90s? Even better, The Por Ella Runners sound like juvenile delinquents on these surfy, garage-y power pop’n’roll tracks.

Yeeeeee! is available on CD directly through the band.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Trabants || Mantra

By / / Psych, Surf / Leave a Comment

Portland, Oregon-based surf-garage-psych project Trabants pull out a new 45 with two cinematic guitar instrumentals. Eric Penna (guitars, percussion), Dave Berkham (bass) and Anthony Brisson (drums) deliver it as a record in two parts, Mantra on side A and Surfers On Acid on side B, mind and body represented by each. Trippy and hypnotic, full of fuzz and sun, groovy with Eastern influences, retro-cool in every way.


Mantra b/w Surfers On Acid, written, recorded and mixed by Eric Penna, is out now digitally and on 7″ vinyl through Hypnotic Bridge Records. The two songs are harbingers for Trabants’ next LP.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Hypnotic Bridge

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of May 2024

By / / Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Power Pop, Punk, Surf / 1 Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg 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 random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

To be honest, I wanted to kick this off with Swedish rock band The Hives’ take on Blue Swede’s Hooked On A Feeling. You probably know the “Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga” chant from Guardians Of The Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1, but the tune is actually 50 years old. The new version is recorded for Spotify Singles, which means we cannot easily embed it here (you’ll find a link in the honorable mentions later in this post). Fortunately, there’s plenty more to choose from.

Star Star || Cover: The Cynz || Original: The Rolling Stones
On their latest release, JEM Records celebrates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, after previously honoring John Lennon (2020), Brian Wilson (2021), Pete Townshend (2022) and Ray Davies (2023) with a strong compilation in this series. This new one is also fun, with energetic contributions from favorite bands and artists such as The Midnight Callers, Paul Collins, TheAirport77s, Nick Piunti and The Weeklings. No fillers here, but I like the ragged edge of The Cynz the best.

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Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of May 2024Read More »

New album: Langhorns || Showstopper

By / / Surf / Leave a Comment

Since 1995, Swedish surf rock band Langhorns has been delighting the world with cinematic instrumentals full of twang and influences from rockabilly and Latin music. Their song Aspiración made it onto the SpongeBob SquarePants soundtrack, so they’ve nothing left to prove, yet they’re back with a new full-length album, their first in over twenty years. The Showstopper LP contains twelve tunes that are as original and captivating as before, varying in tempo but always with refined melodies, surprising twists, and a good sense of nostalgia.



Showstopper, written by Michael Sellers, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Adore Music / Beat Party Records / Bad Taste Empire.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Bengans

New album: The Porcupines || “Higher Emotions”

By / / Garage Rock, Surf / Leave a Comment

The Porcupines are a German rock ‘n’ roll band featuring songwriter Onno Calzone on vocals and guitars, Michael Nisi on bass and vocals, and a singing drummer formerly known as Heavy Willie but has dropped the adjective. About 30 years ago they released the Tie Me Loose 7″ and performed here and there, and after a long period of silence they apparently got the itch again. With fresh full-length album “Higher Emotions” they present twelve energetic tunes, partly instrumental, with varying degrees of groovy surf rock and trashy pop-punk. Everything radiates infectious fun and enthusiasm, a tasty sauce on top of the original melodies and hooks.




“Higher Emotions” is out now digitally (self-released). Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Bacarrudas || Pool Party

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

The first thing that comes to mind while listening to The Bacarrudas debut album Pool Party? “Well it ain’t Barracuda man, but I think we got a hit record.” The second thought? This might just be the most enjoyable record of 2024. The third? This isn’t just fun to listen to, these songs are actually pretty great.

With Pool Party, The Bacarrudas – a band masterminded by Adam Rabuck of Dirt Bike Annie, deliver a soundtrack tailor-made for your next BBQ or poolside bash. Drawing heavily from the playbook of frat rock and ’60s garage and R&B, The Bacarrudas offer a rollicking ride through infectious tunes and irresistible hooks. With its fun-loving attitude, occasional moments of rowdiness, and consistently upbeat tempo, Pool Party is a collection of crowd-pleasers that practically begs for sing-alongs. From classic call-and-response sections to dynamic drumming and driving organ arrangements, there’s never a dull moment. I totally agree with Josh Rutledge’s assertion that The Bacarrudas must be an insane live band with 100% party guarantee.

What sets The Bacarrudas apart, however, is their genuine authenticity. While they might sound like they stepped straight out of a retro party scene, there’s nothing gimmicky about their music. These are well-crafted, finely-tuned tunes that hit all the right marks – that applies to the party songs, but also to the surprising indie pop leaning songs on the record like Heart Beating, and (Don’t Go) Running Out).

Pool Party is out now on CD at Mom’s Basement Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Mom’s Basement

New EP: Los Dedos || El Salado

By / / Surf / Leave a Comment

Los Dedos are an instrumental surf rock band from Bristol, featuring Willy Malo (guitar, trumpet), Picu Moreno (bass, Spanish guitar) and Sam Bigland (drums, percussion), on their new EP El Salado assisted by Clod Jovino (keyboards). In its six cinematic tunes they bring other worlds to the British coast: the title track bears influences of a spaghetti western, Hot Rod Bob is the soundtrack of a vintage car race, in Domingo Negro the tempo is slowed down to suit a more serious subject, and so on. The reverb-drenched guitars and rolling drum beats make it always work.


El Salado, recorded & mixed by Ben Capp, is out now digitally, on CD and 10″ vinyl, through Otitis Media Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Otitis

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