Axis: Sova makes super gritty, skronky surf rock that sounds like someone threw Surf’s Up into a giant f—king drum of acid, lit the drum on fire, and threw it directly into a stream of Lava. His new album, Early Surf vacillates from garage rock to noisy drone in a way that sounds utterly effortless. Transfixed by the group’s extremely distorted and raw aesthetic, I was so curious about the sounds and artists that provided the new band with its center of gravity and inspiration. As you’ll hear below in founding member Brett Sova’s mix, big riffs are clearly a defining point of reference for the group, but not the only one. In addition to adding AC/DC’s “Jailbreak” to the mix ( which isn’t in Spotify’s database wahhhhh), Brett also added the soothing, yet dynamic jazz of Alice Coltrane, as well as a shimmering, analgesic tune from Robin Trower.

Below you’ll find Axis: Sova’s Spotify playlist and the YouTube links to the two tracks that aren’t currently in the streaming service’s database:

AC/DC’s “Jailbreak”:

Flying Saucer Attack’s “The Sea”:

Axis: Sova’s “Early Surf”:

Brett Sova on his mix and illustration:

“A dense batch of jams fit for driving off into the sunset or driving off into the cosmos, these tunes will grind the pedal to the metal and create a blissful force-field at warp speed. For and about the process, each song is centered around a hypnotic, repetitive riff intended to settle you into a state of cruising, free of road rash. As the drawing intimates, these are songs for all the different voices floating within your melon.”

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Let us know if you are digging the distorted riffs on this installment of Car Tunes and Cartoons, and we want to know who you think should be featured next! Now excuse me while I put my headphones back on and disappear into a storm front of noise exposure.