Those ‘Spoiled Brats From Malibu’ are back! Hot on the heels of the My Beach reissue, Futurismo present Surf Punks classic 1982 follow up - Locals Only.A raucous love letter to beach life in Malibu, Locals Only is a tongue in cheek, culturally observant, fully anarchic slab of new wave punk fun that is not to be missed. Out was the clean-cut 60’s surf culture innocence of The Beach Boys, in was Surf Punks brand of attitude fuelled 80’s surf rock, lampooning everything from lifeguards to valley kids to shark attacks. Surf Punks wild abandon was captured perfectly in Richard Uppers wonderful cover photograph, featuring the band sprawled out on a beach adorned with surf paraphernalia and beer. Originally only used in black and white on the back cover, here it appears on the front in full colour for the very first time. Make no mistake, Surf Punks were the real deal, fully committed to the beach life concept in both reality; Drew Steele and Dennis Dragon were hardcore surfers, and on stage; where they constructed a full size lifeguard tower and beach set up. A taste of the bands live mayhem can be seen in their memorable section of the cult music documentary Urgh! A Music War. Unmistakably a product of the 1980’s, Locals Only is a neon splattered punk fused party bomb that was about ‘not taking life too seriously’ even if the band themselves were serious musicians at heart. During the 80’s surf culture was thrown into populist overdrive in fashion and film, but Surf Punks were doing it first. Long before the beach bum cliché the band were writing a commentary on Californian culture, in real time. An essential document of the era, Locals Only is a vibrant amalgamation of new wave, surf rock, pop and SoCal punk all wrapped up in a catchy, obnoxious, irreverent package that could perhaps be considered a rarity, in that it had the musical chops to back it all up. For fans of Descendents, Ramones, Agent Orange and Devo.
