Single Fins & Safety Pins

VINYL FORMAT. Japanese Motors are the most exciting band to emerge from Orange County since the heyday of Social Distortion and TSOL. Hailing from Costa Mesa and comprised of surfer and singer Alex Knost, guitarist Nolan Hall, bassist Chris Vail, and drummer Andrew Atkinson, the band is known around Southern California for the insane, all-night blowouts they put on as much as for the driving, raucous garage pop they set the partying to. Rather than fight the influence of their surroundings like so many of their So Cal contemporaries, Japanese Motors have channeled it into their music, making tunes every bit as sun-baked and laid-back as their coastal environs and rife with positive imagery.

'Most bands from here are trying to sound like they're from London or New York,' Nolan says. 'We embrace where we're from.' No song we've heard since the golden days of the Beach Boys captures the summer California sun more than "Single Fins & Safety Pins".