The Delstroyers
Bomboras dissipate when dropdown toms and bass-string anglings assure foundation for trebly articulations known well to Green Room habitués.
Videos: "Nightshade" & "Cannibal Car"
Showing posts with label Surf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surf. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Doyley & the Twanglords
Reverbatron digital album
(Diablo Records)
Just as opening minutes flash walloping imagery of Venusian waves crashing green-sand shores -- while the Republic Robot shoots the single-digit salute to two-headed gremmies -- closer "Lost Soul" introduces Old Country accordian into fast-flung instro proceedings. Betwixt the two hurtle wordless wonders that explore just how far six-strings can go to unite Bikini Beach and Forbidden Planet.
Recommended: "Reverbatron," "MoonSurfer," "Il Monstro," "Badaboom," "Robostomp," "Lost Soul"
No related videos were available. But here's a fun interview from years ago.
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Sunday, July 12, 2026
Stompin' Riffraffs
Maybe it was a hush-hush Army atomic experiment that transmogrified Frankie, Annette, and other Go-Go beach teens into the Robot Monster, She-Creature, and miscellaneous misshapen products of drive-in screamers, now lurching in attempts to pull off dance sensations that are sweeping the nation. The world will never know.
Video: "Horror Show"
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Vampire Bats
Vampire's Delight
(Gollipop Records)
Recommended: "Witch Stomp," "Dr. Mad Daddy," "Full Moonlight," "Zombie in Love," "Batman Theme," "Red Apple Pie," "Please Give Me Something"
Videos: "Witch Stomp" (Official video) "Zombie in Love" "Red Apple Pie" "Please Give Me Something" (live)
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Back in the Day, 1999
The Neanderthals
The Modern Stone-Age Family
(Sundazed)
"Mastodon's" measured distorto-chords and trenchant beat recall both the Kinks and Los Straitjackets' choreographed stomps. That last hardly surprises, given that Eddie Angel teamed with Johnny Rabb to perpetrate this wiggy beach bash.
Straitjackets drummer Pete Curry is a sometime accomplice. And bassist Sam Bolle, whose resume includes Dick Dale, Fear, and Agent Orange, has hands in certain carbonated sensations, as well.
All tracks but one clock in under 3:00, which means outta sight bends and gasser shenanigans must make cases briskly. Eddie crafted Fun Gone Wild tunes with characteristic surf/garage erudition.
High moments ride mondo waves to transister jollification: "Toe Rag Twitch" transmogrifies "The Bedrock Twitch," and has teens the scene 'round doing dance sensations that are sweeping the nation. "Remember the Twist" juices the juke with experimental octane.
Were it not for Dippity-Do and Aqua Net, the ponytails and rat-tail-comb-teased bouffants of chicks shaking hips to "Flintstone Flop," "King of the Twist," and "Neanderthal Twist" would fast resemble peroxided shambles.
Select reinventions - with combo eyes ever toward shimmy-shimmy diversion - include Addams Family actor Ted Cassidy's 1965 "Lurch;" "I Go Ape" (a 1959 Neil Sedaka racer that England's Wee Willie Harris covered to riotous effect); novelty group The Martians' 1959 "Tarzan;" "Rockin' in the Jungle" (The Eternals' 1959 side); and "Shaggy Dog," waxed by Mickey Lee Lane in 1964.
Sundazed reissued Modern Stone-Age Family in 2023, on white translucent vinyl.
Recommended: "Mastodon," "Shaggy Dog," "I Go Ape," "Tarzan," "Toe Rag Twitch," "Remember the Twist," "Flintstone Flop," "Rockin' the Jungle," "King of the Twist," "Neanderthal Twist"
Videos: "Mastodon" "I Go Ape" (live) "Remember the Twist" "King of the Twist" "Neanderthal Twist"
Facebook (Eddie Angel)
Sunday, March 15, 2026
Screamin' Meemies
The Trap
(Self-issued)
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Shrewd production by chief Brain Rene De La Muerte allows every plugged-in deviser to be heard unto the extreme. And for his part, Marcel Bontempi fashioned startling cover art that, were it a movie house poster, would ensure swarming streams of bloodshot-eyed ticket-seizers.
Chord-swiped spectacles arisen are so dark, their poetry so lurid, one imagines Maila Nurmi getting up on the wrong side of the slab and seizing a quill. "Don't Tell Me No Lies," "All That She Wants," and "Motherfucker" stampede crazily into that bad night, busting clean through any impediments at ultra-volumes and without regard for anyone or anything.
Instrumental "Haunted Mountain" veers from bubbling electronics to gleeful brutality, six-string savagery and beats of locked-in purposefulness ushering listeners through what undead surely sounds like.
A Bandcamp advisory notes that conclusive slice "Something is Wrong" "officially closes this chapter and opens the door to what comes next." The song portends ebony desolation to which monsters will surely ransack labs' Strickfaden apparatuses and tear up moonshadowed countrysides.
The lid now closes. But know that it will again crack.
Recommended: "The Trap," "Drivin' Me Crazy," "Don't Tell Me No Lies," "Haunted Mountain," "All That She Wants," "Motherfucker," "Something is Wrong"
Videos: "All That She Wants" "Motherfucker" "Something is Wrong"
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Hitchcocks
Tales of Hitchcocks 300-copy, 4-track 7" orange vinyl, or 13-cut CD
(Sunnyboy 66 / Latitude Zero Records)
For a bit of a notion as to the present circumstance, straddle a board atop cresting foams splashing through carnival funhouse mirrors, as beyond-Milky-Way tunery, charged by Don Post trick-or-treat mask-wearing outer space spooks with twang bars, reverbs through the Montgomery Ward transister radio you've pressed to an ear. Yeah, it's that good.
Recommended: "Halloween Night," "Interferencia UFO," "Passageiro do Futuro," "O Regresso," "Vampire Dancing," "Magma," "Spaceman," "A Noite do Besouro Verde"
Videos: promo clip live clip 2nd live clip
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Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Los Pontiaks
Hay un ojo en mi Martini! 12" vinyl LP
(Subterfuge Records)
"These three Prussian soldiers from the underworld emerge from their graves, when the occasion warrants, to invite us to a true hip-shattering Rock 'n' Roll bacchanal." intones their autobilling. Exotic and often instrumental rat rod treks through haunts of Surf, hacksaw rhythms, and Garage Mambo thrill without pause. Inventive songcraft dodges down unforseen novel night roads. The Lux & Ivy imprint (reflect upon title) has its way, certainly, though not with the Scumbag Alley banshee howl one might anticipate. Summoned forth are ten koo-koo treatises that, while hinting now and again at the storied CBGB's cryptkeepers, do so with the impeccable dash of 1940s John-Carradine-House-of-Dracula flowing cape. Silken finery and military helmets catch eyes, yes, but death-heads, dive-bombing chords, and final-mile drum sureness remind of cursed circumstance. (And whose hand is on your shoulder?)
Recommended: "Plato o Plomo," "Hay un ojo en mi Martini!," "Bailarina de seis brazos," "Chicas Zombies," "El Diablo," "El Atracto Perfecto," "El Indiano"
Videos: "Hay un ojo en mi Martini!" "Chicas Zombies" "El Atracto Perfecto"
Sunday, March 1, 2026
The Monokids
s/t
(Self-issued)
Italy's Monokids are the whole package: a second skin, cat-style look; Neo-Rockabilly (plus sundry other bents) so tight and energetically tossed out that neophyte competitors likely grind molars enviously; and such apparent affection for the bop that drives cats and gators into lava-blooded paroxysms, that sound systems tremble at resultant roar.
Recommended: "Always Do the Bop," "Real Gone Daddy," "40 Days in a County Jail," "The Last Goodbye," "My Blues," "Blazing"
Videos: "Always Do the Bop" "Real Gone Daddy" (clip) "40 Days in a County Jail" (clip)
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
The 66ers
Have More Fun
(Rum Bar Records)
I call it the "Ramones formula" - the seamless union of chewy-chewy Pop that once blared from cheap transisters teens pressed to their ears while shooting sidewalk curls, and 'fun times for everyone' slam-bounce. It's difficult to pull off. The combo before us not only succeeds, but the originals (penned by guitarist/singer Steven Brookfield) turn listener musings to Boyce/Hart compositions or Freddy Cannon's shoot-the-chute, along with Dee Dee and Joey's beach-parties-idealized-from-tenement-fire-escape ones. Worth stressing is that heaping spoonfuls of personality lend piquance; exquisite harmonies fill blue skies, buoyed by knowing instrumental recreation. Beneath sunniness revs muscle. Fun is the word.
Recommended: "Holiday," "Southern Girls," "Malisandre," "Miss Summertime," "This Girl is Rude," "Veronika," "If I Could Surf," "Anything You Wanna Be"
Videos: "Holiday" "Southern Girls" "Miss Summertime" "If I Could Surf"
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Los Straitjackets
Somos Los Straitjackets
(Yep Roc Records)
So conversant are they in disparate tongues, that the "Surf" adjective often cast upon them hardly suffices. The spring-heeled four are widely hailed for assurance that awes. Textbook dexterity enables them to deal out impressive constructions that are sophisticated, dashing, and, sporadically, introspective. Frankie, Annette, and Deadhead/Bonehead fell in with Wray rumblings, Montgomery Ward-transistor-to-ear musings, and movements serenely majestic, a wealth of sensuous jollities being the creation.
500 copies exist, per Yep Roc.
Recommended: "Bumper Car," "Polaris," "Genesee River Rock," "High Wire Act," "Numbskull," "Two Steps Ahead," "April Showers" (feat. guitarist Simon Heeran), "Cry For a Beatle," "Copy Cat," "Wicker Park," "Spinout"
Videos: "Polaris" (official video) "High Wire Act" (live) "Spinout" (official video)
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Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Black Valley Moon
We Sleep two-track digital release
(Songs From Oa)
Daring sorts who've pushed-wide oak doors of haunted Old Dark Houses during the Witching Hour, will dig the mood oozed by "We Sleep." It unfurls in creeping manner. Players collude with knowing acumen, their dark purpose to fulfill. Cobwebs are ubiquitous. "They're after me, but I ain't runnin'," intones a narrator for whom accursedness is as naught. A Danzig song, "Mother" also advances in ominous languorousness; skin-crawling essence spreads by the inch. Smiles will never gather in these shadows - at least, not innocent ones.
Videos: "We Sleep" "Mother"
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Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Marie 13 & Engineer Ferris
Psycoziness
(Self-issued)
Portuguese tattoo contriver Marie 13, abetted by Ferris (who is also credited with music and artwork) roams instrumental avenues that prove catching. What might in less adventurous controls be routine Surf journeys, are here charged by Goth and Psycho compulsions. That is not to imply storminess, though; the souls responsible tend to venture moderately, their musicianship negotiating volatile sequences.
Recommended: "The Clap of Karma," "I'll Come Crushing," "Howling on the High Hill," "Beyond Repair Blues," "Self-Harmless Twist," "We Are Chaos," "Chimeras & Demons IV"
Video: "Beyond Repair Blues" (slice)
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Wednesday, August 20, 2025
X-Ray Cat Trio
"Sir Gawain & the Green Knight" b/w "Greensleeves" digital single
(Property of the Lost)
Exiting medieval mists to invade beach-party transistor blare are instrumental marauders that enthrall. Remember the ancient suits of armor that stood mute witness to countless Old Dark House melodramas? Recast them as silver surfdogs. Dust-blanketed airs enjoy crisp animation in the hands of craftsmen.
Videos: "Sir Gawain & the Green Knight" "Greensleeves"
Amazon (DE)
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Wednesday, August 6, 2025
The Lagoon Lurkers
It Came from the Grave Beyond OuterSpace
(Self-issued)
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Crammed into a Honda Accord, whimsical confectionists the B52s sped along a backroad, only to be dive-demolished by Lux and Ivy's mutant saucer. Ponying Pop grooves and Rock'n'Roll unspeakables lay everywhere. "I Was a Teenage Thermonuclear Cheerleader" ("She's hotter than a super-nova in a muscle car!") ranks among 2025's wittiest handles. And the hat-tip to an infamous, ballyhooing director of cult-relished drive-in detritus pleases with peppiness. Once one's laughter falls away, though, the understanding that players of proficiency toil amidst this campiness claims purchase.
Recommended: "It Came from the Grave Beyond Outer Space," "Midnight at the Mortuary Hop," "Boogie from Beyond," "I Was a Thermonuclear Cheerleader," "Kiss Me, I'm Mutated," "Castle of Shock," "The Brain that Screamed Forever"
Videos: "Midnight at the Mortuary Hop" "I Was a Teenage Thermonuclear Cheerleader" "Castle of Shock"
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Saturday, February 22, 2025
Urban Zotel & the Thundertones
"Heatwave" b/w "Emergenct Exit"
(Martin's Garage)
It's perilous kicks, maintaining board-balance atop a crest while pressing a General Electric transister radio to one ear. (Add in waist-up Frugging.) But the cumulative product of twanging strings, gentle sax, and appropriately understated tempos conjures mesmeric force majeure as actual as sand-grains betwixt toes.
Videos: "Heatwave" "Emergency Exit"
Sunday, October 20, 2024
The Tragic Radicals
Year of the Radical
(Savage Magic Records)
Adventuresome instrumentals, rendered starkly by electric guitar and drums. Much respect is due musicians who contrive song architecture with plenteous intellectual investment. The stylistic compound here is a construct unto itself, numbering among constituents Garage, Surf, Grunge, and Prog (that last being something the present writer generally turns from, though in this instance, it intrigues). Songs are best appreciated in their entireties; disparate tempos, shadings, and ambitions flicker mischievously, only to transmogrify into things unanticipated. Listeners may well wonder where songs will ultimately wind up - the answer can only be learned through experience.
Recommended: "Fuckin' Weirdos," "POTUS Redding," "The Madman," "Mayday!," "P.S.," "Rabiessquirrels," "Romanian Noodles," "Rinse & Repeat," "Welcome To Dyownsville"
Video: "Fuckin' Weirdos" (live) "Madman" (live) "Mayday!" (live)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
The Greasy Gills
"Corn Cob Racer" b/w "Meat Swamp' 7" yellow vinyl or digital format
(No-Count Records/MuSick Recordings)
Executed for our diversion are instrumentals felicitous for both leaving rubber on quarter miles and shooting foamy curls. Jordan Steer can make a guitar do all but kickstart a shovelhead. Sprawling exploits are spurred by the gymnastics of sticks-artisan Gracie Malley and adroit electric-bass navigator Sam Benedetti. Bursting out loud is a cohesion possible only for professionals.
Videos: "Corn Cob Racer" "Meat Swamp" live (40:13)
Monday, September 30, 2024
The Unnaturals
Sleazy Listening digital album
(Self-issued)
The all-instrumentals Unnaturals' tagline "Definitely NOT your parents' surf band" is comfortable beneath the Truth In Labeling umbrella. Each player excels at what unspools as contemporary, rocketing dynamism Frankie and Annette could only have fantasized if hot-dogging on mile-a-minute waves of stern libation. Chords chop and notes scream as the hammer comes down. Upon their issuance, these combustable recordings enjoyed radio-play in the trio's own New Orleans. World beyond comes next.
Recommended: "The Binge," "Vice Squad," "Clambaked!," "Cowpoke," "Take the Ride," "Shafted," "Two-Beer Buzz," "Staring Proudly Off Into the Sunset," "One Last Wave"
Videos: "The Binge" live in 2022 (13:15)
Friday, September 20, 2024
the alley-oops
s/t EP
(Self-issued)
Spartan instrumentals range from Surf to Spy, and Rockabilly to swinging soirees. Alex traverses the fretboard like home turf. He can muse at leisure, his enunciations enabled by wide knowledge, but also tear through gymnastic runs that snatch breath. Involved ornamentation is absent. That benefits, as basicness facilitates flight.
Recommended: "Progabilly," "Hang Ten," "Private Eye," "Blue's Polka," "The Alley-Oops Rag"
Videos: "The Alley-Oops Rag" "Blue's Polka"
Amazon (UK)
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