Shark Week - Beach Fuzz (2015)

Staggering crowds with their surf-pop garage sound since 2013, Washington, D.C.’s Shark Week keeps one foot planted in the past, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as David Bowie, The New York Dolls, the Velvet Underground and Ennio Morricone.

Beach Fuzz, the band’s debut full-length record out in May on PaperCup Music, offers a palette of jaded love songs to paint your summer with textured gem-toned vibes. The album seamlessly blends tight punk numbers, beach ditties, brooding western lullabies and sprawling, freaked out, psychedelic jams with wry wit, reverb-drenched chorus backgrounds and percussive rhythms.

Capturing the frantic energy of their notoriously raucous and carefree live shows, the record also showcases the band’s honed precision and ambitious range. The songs build on the foundation of their critically acclaimed self-titled EP and their follow up seven-inch record, Santurce, named for the Puerto Rican neighborhood where it was recorded.

With a flash of red hair streaking across the stage and the devil dancing in his eye, Ryan Hunter Mitchell delivers nervy, Richard-Hellish vocals over Alberto Pacheco’s jangly, glam-rock-inspired electric licks. Danielle Vu’s pulsating bass lines and Dan Newhauser’s loose, pounding drums anchor the group.