Allah-Las :: Sirenas

On their sixth record, Allah-Las embrace a fully instrumental template that oscillates with hypnotic, rhythmic textures and soft ambient currents. Wrapped in the ambiance of aquatic soundscapes, the grooves channel atmospheres where sundowns meet blurred, gauzy perceptions. With references to the likes of English electronic duo Ultramarine and The Durutti Column’s Vini Reilly, the free-wheeling pathways of Sirenas offers a fascinating pivot that leaves the door open for boundless transmissions.

Allah-Las :: Zuma 85

You can glimpse a stunning sunset through a ruined window on the cover of the Allah-Las’ fifth full-length, Zuma 85, a fitting metaphor for the music’s cracked pastoral beauty, which imbues 1970s psychedelia with sunny So-Cal breeziness.

The LP gets at a very consistent vibe from divergent directions, trying out all sorts of ideas but fitting them into a single, album-spanning narrative. It’s a nice view, but more than that, a reminder of how art can spring from difficulty and transcend it.

Self Discovery For Social Survival: A Film

8 musicians, 16 surfers, and tucked-away surf breaks in Mexico, the Maldives and Iceland are on full display, as the viewer is taken on a journey that showcases the seamless relationship between wave and sound. As the opening credits state, the surfing was done in real time… the music was created in response.