MuchoReverbo's Modern Surf/Spy/Instro-Mental Thread

[MuchoReverbo]

Aqua Velvet (Not To Be Confused with the Surf Band The Aqua Velvets) is an exotica and lounge-music reclamation project founded by Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist and arranger Jim Hoke and saxophonist/flautist Randy Leago. The group reimagines pop hits, country standards, and exotica classics using the whimsical, atmospheric arrangements of 1950s and 60s legends like Esquivel and Brian Wilson.

The band’s exotica and lounge stylings feature an airy, retro-space-age aesthetic with lush woodwinds, vibraphones, and cinematic flair. Their repertoire and notable characteristics include:

• The "Lounge-Core" Reimagination: Their album Hey Everybody Let's Fall In Love applies the Esquivel treatment to a wide range of pop hits.
• Exotic Sounds in Country Music: A highly celebrated sub-project where the band blends vintage honky-tonk and country standards with rich, sultry cabaret and exotica rhythms, featuring impassioned vocals by Kristi Rose.
• Live Performances: Known for their immersive, swanky bachelor-pad atmosphere, the ensemble frequently features local heavy-hitters and draws on a massive palette of world music instruments.

Aqua Velvet - Chances Are (2007)

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Amphibian Man is a one-man instrumental psychedelic surf project hailing from Kyiv, Ukraine, spearheaded by a musician named Stefan S. Imagine classic 1960s Dick Dale tremolo picking, but it’s dragged kicking and screaming through a muddy, lo-fi garage, doused in heavy psychedelic acid-fuzz, and played at a manic, near-punk speed.

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Los Justicieros is an incredibly obscure, ultra-lo-fi surf outfit that put out music through hyper-independent DIY channels. If you try to find them on mainstream streaming networks or social media, you will mostly hit a brick wall. They basically exist in the shadows of underground tape-trading circles and forgotten Bandcamp pages. Los Justicieros sound like a haunted, low-budget 1960s B-movie. It’s instrumental surf rock blended with a heavy dose of dusty Spaghetti Western twang, spooky sci-fi organs, and a dark, crackling garage-punk fuzz.

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Two more albums that I do not have in my collection, although I do have another Amphibian Man CD...







Amphibian Man - Asassin (2023)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Here's a great instro song......

Formed in 1998 in the Chicago/Hammond, Indiana area, The Cocktail Preachers are a highly regarded surf-lounge and instrumental rock band known for combining classic surf twang with lounge, spy, and tiki aesthetics. They have been spreading their "sermon" of instrumental music across the United States for over two decades.




The Cocktail Preachers - Drink Donna (2002)

 

[Christian B]

Played earlier.

 

[MuchoReverbo]

HAPA is a legendary contemporary Hawaiian music group founded in 1983 by guitarist Barry Flanagan and Honolulu native Keli'i Kaneali'i. Their name, meaning "half" in Hawaiian, originally referred to the duo’s diverse backgrounds (one from New Jersey, one from the South Pacific).




Hapa - Walk Don't Run (1997)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Acclaimed Philadelphia quintet blends Hawaiian steel guitar with the elegance and allure of after-hours jazz.

Brand-new release just this week. Limited edition colored vinyl album available for pre-order.



Slowey and The Boats - Flor de Ennui (2026)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The Dirty Licks are an instrumental surf, garage, and punk rock band hailing from the desert in Tucson, Arizona. Known for their high-energy, reverb-heavy sound, they perform desert surf rock.



The Dirty Licks - James Bond Booze Cruise (2023)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Surf Report was a San Diego-based instrumental rock band active from 1994 to 2004, celebrated for re-tooling heavy metal tracks into up-tempo surf tunes. The trio (guitarist Ryan Ruiz, bassist Steve Van Wyk, and drummer Mr. E) famously covered songs like Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" and Motorhead's "Ace of Spades".

Insipred by influences ranging from The Ventures to Ozzy Osbourne, they came up with a unique style of up-tempo instrumental surf music.



Surf Report - The Trooper (1996)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The Kilaueas are a Berlin-based instrumental surf rock band formed in 1998. They are celebrated for their self-defined "Reverb Drenched Magmaphonic High Energy" sound. Blending driving guitars with classic SoCal, Spaghetti Western, and secret agent vibes, they remain a staple of the global surf revival scene.

The group stays deeply rooted in the retro surf aesthetic, delivering 1960s-style sounds that range from snappy, high-energy wavebreakers to atmospheric soundtrack lounge tunes. Known for their high-speed staccato guitar picking and comic-art vinyl covers, they have built a dedicated worldwide audience.



The Kilaueas - Born Dead... Buried Alive (2025)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

New World Relámpagos is a collaborative instrumental rock album. The project united founders of the 1960s Spanish band Los Relámpagos with notable modern surf-rock musicians to record a fresh take on traditional Spanish and Spaghetti-Western instrumentals

The album features original Los Relámpagos members Pablo Herrero and Jose Luis Armenteros, alongside modern surf virtuosos Ivan Pongracic (The Space Cossacks), Sam Bolle (Agent Orange), and Dusty Watson.



New World Relampagos - el tren De Las Tres Y Diez (2000)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Secret Agent is a band from Mexico City and their music is a harmonious combination of surf rock and spy movie score. You may think to yourself, “This has to be from the 1960’s.” But you’d be about six decades off. They formed in 2015 and released their debut ep just nine years ago in 2017!



Secret Agent - Peter Gunn Theme (2017)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Viernes de Hongos is an instrumental rock and surf band originating from Mexico. Formed in 2004, their biography defines their sound as creative, spontaneous, and dreamlike, blending surf rock, garage, and surrealism into a unique musical experience.



Viernes de Hongos - Numeros Rojos (2023)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The Jaguars - Peel Out With The Jaguars (2026)
"Rustbucket" b/w "2222 Go!"







The Boss Jaguars – Rustbucket (2026)

The Boss Jaguars - 2222 Go! (2026)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

The Rhino Chasers are based in the Great Lakes region, this band is a supergroup formed by members of Rochester surf bands Duke Galaxy and the Pipeliners and EyeSpy. They play classic, reverb-heavy instrumental surf tunes and released their self-titled EP, "Here Come The Rhino Chasers," in the mid-2010s.

They take their name from the term "Rhino Chasers", a surfing slang term for big-wave adventurers.










The Rhino Chasers - Moonlight Swamis (2024)

The Rhino Chasers - Can of Worms (2024)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Little Kahuna is an Orange County, California-based Tiki surf and exotica band. Led by guitarist and songwriter Craig Skelly, the group blends traditional surf rock with Bossa Nova, jazz, and Spaghetti Western influences.









Little Kahuna - One Against The World (2026)

Little Kahuna - Tidal Rush (2026)

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Manic Vila is an Indie, surf rock instrumental artist from Delaware.



Manic Vila — Salt 3 (2024)

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Meet Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!

They are a hyper-obscure, criminally underappreciated instrumental surf-punk/psych outfit out of Boston, Massachusetts. They make some of the most thrillingly aggressive, fuzzed-out surf on the planet. Imagine if Quentin Tarantino directed a sci-fi slasher movie set entirely inside a haunted tiki bar. It’s driven by furious, dueling twin lead guitars that sound like they've been dipped in radioactive acid, laid over lightning-fast garage punk drums. It is dizzying, relentless, and fiercely psychedelic in a bad-trip, midnight-movie kind of way. Acid Chalet (2023) is the album I like most, unfortunately nothing from it on YouTube yet.

 

[MuchoReverbo]

Surf music meets avant-garde jazz on the second instrumental rock album by Double Naught Spy Car. Heavy on reverb guitar & way-out lap steel, DNSC lays down some heavy grooves. They play in the L.A. area, packing venues like the Knitting Factory & the Key Club.



Double Naught Spy Car - Danger High! (2002)