Japanese Motors

During its best moments, Japanese Motors' debut album -- mellow garage rock, tons of surf-iness and none of the usual retro-cool posturing such like-minded bands tend to drip with -- sounds like the Rivieras' (the definitive version of "California Sun") jamming with pre-drugs/mentally disturbed Beach Boys, meaning folks are dancing on a blanket with their best gal and drinking lemonade ... in a good way. First (and best) song "Single Fins & Safety Pins" conjures images of Modern Lovers-era Jonathan Richman with a woody. That's SoCal lingo for "surfboard" there, just to clarify.