Insect Surfers - Reverb Sun (1990)

Part of the early '90s brief surf revival, L.A.'s Insect Surfers were a traditional surf outfit, playing mostly reverb-heavy instrumentals. Unlike other bands from this period, such as the Bomboras, who set fire to their instruments, added organ to their sound, and featured a go-go dancer, or Alabama's Man or Astro-Man?, who added a spaced-out rock theme to their take on surf music, the Insect Surfers played it completely straight. They wore shorts and looked like guys who probably really surfed. Almost every song on Reverb Sun is an original, and these guys know their way around the genre. Some of these tunes sound like classic surf covers, an example of the band's superb songwriting prowess. It's not heavy rock stuff, nor is it a particularly thrilling take on surf music, but for modern Ventures-style traditional surf music, Reverb Sun cannot be beat.~Adam Bregman