We Come in Peace affirmatively answers the question of whether guys looking more like rockabilly, grunge and blues cats can advance instrumental surf music into fresh frontiers. Flamenco and mariachi accents weren’t unheard of in their genre’s heyday more than 50 years ago, though not to the epically atmospheric extent (including choral vocals and trumpet!) employed by this Milwaukee band on their third album. Elsewhere they use reverb and busy beats to evoke connections from their favorite music to shoe-gazing indie rock and new-age fascination with drone modulation, if only for a measure or two here and there.
