Locals Only＜Colored Vinyl＞

If Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys represent the clean innocence of beach culture, then the Surf Punks might be remembered as the pesky swamp monster living under the pier. Still snarling, sneering, and battling over beach space, Locals Only also lampoons shark attacks, fat chicks, lifeguards, and hated valleys -- at least seemingly in jest. Though most of the album treads the same shallow waters as My Beach, "Spoiled Brats From Malibu I" has an appealing early-Cars electro-hook that bubbles with a Jeff Spicoli happenstance, and the silly "Hey Mr. Lifeguard" is doofy dialogue spoken over a plastic reggae beat. Quite absurd is a tearjerker cover of "Sealed With a Kiss," that actually includes a sobbing girl and cops Bill Murray's sappy lounge singer act, until the joke finally erupts into a noisefest. Because the snarky attitude and haole humor eventually wears thin, Locals Only may pique the interest of So Cal coastal inhabitants, or '80s nostalgia buffs who wasted countless hours playing video games in arcades wearing checkerboard Vans. ~ Craig Curtice