It's October, So Here's Some Spooky Surf Rock

Yeah, I don't believe it either. BOO! It's October as of today, or, if you're a dude, Octobeard. Anyways, it seems only appropriate to share with you one of the best modern day surf rock bands, one that falls under the category of Halloween. The Ghastly Ones are an instrumental surf/garage rock band from Van Nuys, CA, and their 1998 classic, A-Haunting We Will Go-Go, is one of the best surf rock records of recent memory -- especially for its incorporation of campy horror. I think one of the best concoctions of all time is the mix of surf rock and Halloween, and The Ghastly Ones do it so well. Scope the video for A-Haunting We Will Go-Go's "Haulin' Hearse" below.

LISTEN/DOWNLOAD: Art Imperial - Surf Suburban EP

Art Imperial - "When I'm With You (I Feel Dumb)"


Art Imperial - "The Inbetweener"


The title Surf Suburban evokes the sound you'd expect: surf rock straight from the suburbs. It's the kind of music that kids who weren't anywhere near a beach back in the '50s would make in their garages, eliminating the miles that separated them from the nearest coastal town. In much the same way, Art Imperial crafted this 6-song EP in the basement of his mother's house, tucked away in the suburbs. What's more, Imperial not only crafted these songs in the suburbs, he worked on them during a long winter in Toronto, which, let's face it, could not be farther from the beach or summertime.

LISTEN: Major Dolby

Major Dolby - "Marcello, come here!"


Remember the ‘60s? I know I sure don’t, but that’s because I wasn’t born until years later. And while I might not have been a resident of those years of change and evolution, I can say with certainty that Major Dolby would have fit right into the musical landscape of the era. With surf rock guitar leads and psych’s hypnotic mystique, this French duo plays instrumental music that is too authentically old school to be considered an emulation or tribute to the past.

Garage and psych generally possess a particularly rough edge to their respective sounds – not sloppy so much as loose and excited in presentation. Major Dolby are not at all rigid, but they do manage a smoother, snappier, and more fine-tuned style that exudes a level of casual cool that charismatic folks like James Bond usually project. What’s more, they add layers of brass instrumentation that liven up their sound and only strengthen their brand of stylized, instrumental ‘60s surf-meets-French pop-meets-psych music.

"Marcello, come here!" is from Major Dolby's new four-track EP, out now on French label Kizmiaz.

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LISTEN: Spacemonster - Gills

Spacemonster is Kenny Hamilton, a man who wraps himself in the hiss and warmth of cassette tape. His bedroom pop is intimate with its lo-fi character and relaxed with its hints of surf rock and ambient. Gills, a 5-song EP, was recorded last year and released back in January of this year. The tonality of Hamilton’s chosen recording medium adds a certain vulnerability and detail to his songs, which generally consist of a guitar or two, tape manipulations, the occasional drum machine, and other various ambient drones and noises.

When you talk about songwriters – or rather the voices that share a story – there’s often a reference to how the person bares their soul or exposes their heart. But with Spacemonster, Hamilton has provided a ticket to the inner-workings of his mind. The drones, hisses, and sounds that weave in and out of his guitar riffs and chord progressions gives these songs a bit of a cerebral quality. There’s no denying that he’s covering matters of the heart, but Gills is a study in blissful, mellow sounds that both tell a story and project an atmosphere – something to close your eyes to and melt into.

Hear/download Gills after the hop.

LISTEN: La Femme - "Sur La Planche"

MP3: La Femme - "Sur La Planche"

There are certain points in the night when everything is still and quiet, but everything inside of you is not. When you're all alone in the dead of night, it's hard not to find yourself tearing through all sorts of thoughts and memories. It's times like these when sleep is constantly escaping, leaving you to wrestle with a certain anxiousness that makes it hard to meet sleep. In the night, sometimes all you can do is race with your thoughts and enjoy the ride.

La Femme is rather mysterious -- ok, mainly because an initial search on Google yields nothing about the band. "Sur La Planche" only adds to the mystery, working some of that reverb-drenched '60s psych garage rock magic. It's more upbeat and straightforward than trippy, running on a frantic drum beat and bass riff that are almost manic in their pace. Imagine lo-fi surf swirling around in the hypnotic waves of psych and you've found the heart of the song.

LISTEN: Sex Beet

MP3: Sex Beet - "Sugar Water"

"Sugar Water" is a quite telling title for a song that pairs the reverb jangle of surf and the fuzz and grit of garage rock -- all played underwater. Initially all the noise comes across as rather cacophonous, but swimming deeper into the sea of fuzz reveals a sugar-coated pop hook. It's a blast of '60s garage rock glory, searing distortion and all. It makes for a beautiful racket that, through its tornado of noise, captures the frustration of love and lust. At one point, it even sounds as though the whole thing is about to explode out of your speakers -- and that's just raucously awesome. For a band that started as a drunk private joke, Sex Beet are competent garage rock torchbearers.

If "Sugar Water" is a bit too rough for you (or you need more Sex Beet in your life), you can download the band's "I'm In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)"/"Cocaine Dan" single below. Much like "Sugar Water," these songs are fun, honest, and rambunctious.

DOWNLOAD: Sex Beet - "I'm In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)"/"Cocaine Dan"

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LISTEN: My Pet Saddle

By Danny Krug

The summer sun is a spotlight for a great many things; there are a lot of things one can only find under the sun. The fondest of memories are birthed in the summer months -- some are even what give us the warmth that carries us through the chill of winter. The warm summer days are bold, beautiful, crazy, exciting, inspiring, joyous, and, most of all, memorable. In a garage somewhere off some major road, the doors are all closed and a tight-knit group of friends all bob their heads up and down. Feet leave the ground in a pogo of enthusiasm; hair flicks all around; and faces crack smiles to release the surplus of glee.

With the vocal harmonies of Dr. Dog, the rickety tones of The Strange Boys, and the old school spirit of Black Lips, My Pet Saddle kick out a hearty brand of garage rock. And where plenty of bands in the genre are all about speed, aggressively strummed chord progressions, and raw attitude, My Pet Saddle display a welcomed sense of control and some serious guitar chops. Working from a pool of reverb, the band gives their sound some added bounce with elements of surf and folk. Taking these styles and cooking them over the hot grill of garage rock gives My Pet Saddle a sound that's direct, earnest, and timeless. They might wear their influences on their collective sleeve, but they've obviously managed to cook up something special for themselves -- and us.

LISTEN: Nobody Wave - "These Girls"

Nobody Wave - "These Girls"


The unbridled jangle of an electric guitar is much like the unbridled enthusiasm of a man -- it's hard to keep either in check. Girls are exciting, and girls are frustrating. Beautiful girls are bound to stir up a certain enthusiasm in a man, if only because man makes them out to be untouchable. Man bends over backwards trying to catch their interest, or leaves it up to fate for the girl to suddenly realize what she's been looking for all along is right in front of her. Such enthusiasm for girls is usually predicated on just thinking about the girls: what they do, what they think about, who they think about, or what they think about you. The excitement about these girls lies in not knowing much at all about them -- a lot of it falls on guess work. So for all the man knows, she'll never be into him. But hey, that's why there's music to educate people. In a fine mix of j-pop, garage rock, and surf rock, Nobody Wave wrangle in these emotions and thoughts with such charm. Where was this song at the start of the summer?!

"These Girls" is from Nobody Wave's latest album, Headgeared. Hear and download it here.

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