The Akulas - Rustines CD (Green Cookie)

Absolutely perfect, spot-on, energetic modern surf - it’s modern in that it has current day production and power, but there is a heavy dose of the vintage, early 60’s sound as well. Drippy guitars and greasy organ share the lead throughout, at times sounding like the members of The Apemen hopped in a DeLorean, were transported to 1961, and asked to play the Rendezvous Ballroom in southern California. Lots of great original tunes, with a few covers added for good measure. This is quite possibly my favorite disc received for review this issue - while there have been lots of great discs over the last year, this one just hits the right spot for me. Heck, they even covered “Crossfire”, one of my favorite Johnny & The Hurricanes tunes! While I can’t say they bettered the original, it is a fun take here and I like that they changed the organ part. They’ve been working since 2005, honing their sound to perfection - it’s quite surprising that this is their debut full-length release, but let’s hope there’s another one very soon!

Tracks: The Searchers - L'Amour Chaud - Holiday Panic - Sikorski - Moon Shot - The Mafista - Le Sang Du Soleil - SL-54 Automatic - Rustines - Cemetary Stomp - Special 230 - Party In Suburbia - Crossfire - Man Of Mystery