The Reefriders - Dawn Patrol CD (Reefrider) 

The Reefriders are a three-piece combo that have been entertaining crowds with the sounds of surf for years. Dawn Patrol is a stormer of a disc - 14 classic tunes, nearly all of which are covers, but what’s cool is they have really focused on more modern surf tunes - a trend that seems to be growing in recent years (and a good thing in my opinion!). Who’s going to argue about a disc with tunes originally written and recorded by the likes of The Fathoms, Phantom Frank, The Penetrators, The Surfites, Frankie & The Poolboys and The Blue Hawaiians, among others. They dig back a bit as well, with covers of well-known tunes by Bobby Fuller and The Atlantics. What seals the deal though is the performances, arrangements and recordings here - this is a powerful sounding disc that is recommended for any surf music fan, even if you already have many of the songs in your collection. While the guitar work of Bruce Brewington is obviously the focus here, I would give the most valuable player award to bassist Jeff Pokorny - as a trio, it’s easy for recordings to sound a bit thin and one-dimensional, but he does a great job of filling the space with a robust sound and melodic playing that doesn’t go over the “too many notes” cliff. Great stuff overall, delivered in a perfect Fred Lammers designed cover.

Tracks: Fathomless - Dead Man Surfin' - Avanti - Our Favorite Martian - Dawn Patrol - Surf Burglar - Bad Czeck - Dreams - The Raven - Melodie's Dilemma - Searchin' For Da Cat - Sound Barrier - West Side Shuffle - Night Of The Living Wedge