Started by Jason Powell (lead vocals, guitar) and Chevelle Wiseman (bass) in 2009—later adding Chris Scott (drums) in 2010—Guantanamo Baywatch excels at crafting gritty, lo-fi tunes that sound like they could have been ripped from a post-apocalyptic Yardbirds album. From the tremolo picking to the iconic reverb, the 60’s surf influence is ever present throughout Chest Crawl. Yet, when combined with Powell’s indecipherable and disquieting vocals, you get something that sounds like Surf Music of the Damned—instantly recognizable, yet sinister.

Of the eleven tracks on Chest Crawl, three are purely instrumental, including the standout opener “Barbacoa.” The remaining eight featuring Powell’s vocals vacillate in quality from ‘holy shit this is my jam’ to the merely ‘OK.’ While Powell is definitely adept as a guitarist—and the rhythm section of Wiseman and Scott are consistently great—his wailing can sometimes prove overwhelming. On “Pina Colada” and “Frizzella,” Powell’s screeching stands in opposition to the rest of song—it’s almost as if both  tracks were originally intended to be instrumental and vocals from some other song were added at the last minute. However, on “Sad Over You” and “Walking in the Dark,” Powell’s howling effectively works with the instrumentation to evoke the fun, but surly party-punk sound that Guantanamo Baywatch is angling for.