If Party People in a Can is a reasonable example of what passes as party music in Portugal, I think I’ll stick to California. On the other hand, if you like your music in the nature of Bauhaus mixed with surf and lazy rhythms this super laid back band from the You Are Not Stealing Records netlabel may be your nirvana. Way Off, Where The Spirits Are is a bit of voodoo served up with panache and a little tongue in the cheek on the side. “Leaving The Home Tribe” has a low mysterious vocal that is paired with a roaming beat reminiscent of Wall of Voodoo. “Surfing With My 2 Little Brothers” is a light little surf homage of an instrumental and “Ayahuasca” definitely has Ennio Morricone in mind. A little surf, a little goth, and lots of atmosphere is what you get with Party People in a Can.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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The email list and web page Surf Guitar 101 discusses all thing surf rock. The membership consists of many musicians, both professional and amateur, who are interested in the genre so it is predictable that they would welcome and issue a collection of tracks by their members. Here are three annual compilations of surf guitar music from 2005, 2006 and 2007 for your listening and surfing pleasure. The tracks range from traditional to experimental, professional to very amateurish, and from great to bewildering. Any way you look at it there are enough good vibrations to make these three collections worthwhile whether or not you own a surfboard.

All three compilations are available as separate tracks or a full album zip in MP3s of varying bitrates.

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Surf Guitar 101, 2005
Surf Guitar 101, 2006
Surf Guitar 101, 2007

A little Mysterons goes a long way. Basically shockabilly, The Mysterons are loud, surfcore, coarse, and more comic book funny than scary or shocking. To put it another way, sort of like The Cramps without vocals. Mainly instrumental, the Mysterons often use B-Movie samples to set the mood. Not being a band that advocates moderation, the musicians have placed virtually their entire output on the internet for free for better or worse.

Wiki Wiki has 20 tracks, ranging from 1998 to 2002, of their typical surf rock spiked with a little rockabilly and campy horror. It is mostly guitar based in a Link Wray tradition. In fact, you can hear the ghost of Link all over this album.

Leftovers is just that, stray demo tracks from other sessions. Actually it is one of the most interesting of their albums because the 14 songs do not always fit into the usual Mysteron formula. Try a jammin’ “Boweavel”, the racetrack ready “Frenzy” or the disco friendly “Red Menace”.

Boozin’, Fuckin’ & Fightin’ may have a title meant to raise a few hackles but the music is some of their most straight forward surf rock and boogie sound. While these tracks sometimes sounds like riffs waiting for a melody you can’t deny the party mood in cuts like “Wheels” and “Chicken Skin Gravy”. One of my favorites is “El Santos” which shows a rather pretty side to this usually raucous band.

Velvet Walls was recorded in 1994. Many of these tracks sound like they come from some sleazy exploitation film soundtrack. I think it’s intentional. Certainly much of it, like “Bone Death and “Dance of the 666 veils”, is meant to be tongue in cheek. There’s a lot of wheezy organ in these early songs. I have a fondness for wheezy organs.

Golden Showers offer the first released tracks from The Mysterons. The horror movie theme is already in place and their fondness for surf music a la Dick Dale or The Ventures is unmistakable. These 15 tracks are pretty much straight forward party fun .

There is also a live set, a “prehistory” album, and a huge collection of throwaway demos. But these five online albums are probably all you need of The Mysterons. Here’s a tip. Put on a DVD of Plan Nine From Outer Space, turn off the sound and play Golden Showers for the soundtrack. It almost works!

The albums are available in MP3 with varying bitrates.

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Wiki Wiki
Leftovers
Boozin’, Fuckin’ & Fightin’
Velvet Walls
Golden Showers

As a native Southern Californian, I was practically weaned on surf music. It doesn’t matter if I prefer blues, jazz, classical or anything else. The average Californian sees surf rock as the official state music with Dick Dale as its de facto governor. So I’m always surprised to see the twangy music escaping its borders and ending up in such places like Ohio, Israel, Japan or , in the case of Dr. Frankenstein, Portugal.

Portugal isn’t all that odd a place for surf music considering the nation is almost all coastline. And Dr. Frankenstein is one of my favorite surf bands of a number of groups that ply their trade for free on the internet. Their main influences appears to be The Ventures and the ubiquitous Mr. Dale. There is a darkness to this music that doesn’t always speak of sun and sand. Also noticeable is the use of original material rather than the worn out surf standards. Overall, a rockin’ EP for surfers from any country.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3 from You Are Not Stealing Records’ download page or an album zip from the link below.

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