No, this isn’t a flyer for a must-see event coming up on Valentine’s Day, but rather a not-so-subtle reminder of a show I was unfortunately unable to attend. Swami John Reis & The Blind Shake released Modern Surf Classics in February of ’15, to great acclaim, and it ended up being their only collaboration to date. Shameful, these facts as I type them. I was, however, fortunate enough to catch this surf-punk-luau team’s Santa Ana show a few months later, which, obviously, like with all things John Reis-related, turned out to be an absolute riot. If you can stomach parting with the Hamilton in your pocket, and you aren’t one of the fortunate ones to already own this album, do yourself a favor and seek it out. High-energy surf, with lighting guitars, and classic Swami snarl. This album is damn near perfect.