3 out of 5

Label: Tip Top Recordings

Produced by: Kristian Bell (recording, mixing, and engineering)

Self-proclaimed (though rightfully so) space surf rock band Japanese Television offer up an uneven 7″.

A-side Bumble Rumble is peak stuff, an off-kilter, washed out riff that blossoms into distortion-laden, wavering surfdom and keys, cool and weird and a little creepy. It ebbs and flows between pluckings and strums; it rocks out in just the right amount and at just the right moments.

B-side Bruce Willis feels more cobbled together from what “space surf rock” suggests, with a somewhat more typical old-school shuffle and spacey sound effects jammed in atop, not quite blending all that well. It’s not unfun, just a little less polished and more forced feeling, but the clean, surfy riffing creates head-bobbing nonetheless.