UMUR
"Surfin' M.O.D." is an EP release by US crossover act M.O.D.. The EP was released through Megaforce Records in 1988 and bridges the gap between the band´s debut full-length studio album "U.S.A. for M.O.D. (1987)" and their second full-length studio album "Gross Misconduct (1989)". Four of the tracks featured on the EP had already been featured on the "Surfin' U.S.A. (1988)" single, but here those four tracks are accompanied by three additional tracks, and a 23:33 minutes long track titled "The Movie", which is a spoken word piece which features the music tracks from the EP in between the spoken parts. So side 1 of the original vinyl version of the EP features "The Movie", and side 2 features the seven music tracks without the spoken word sections.
Although the tracks are generally slightly more goofy and rock´n´roll oriented than the material on the debut album (which at times were also pretty goofy), this pretty much sounds like a natural successor to "U.S.A. for M.O.D. (1987)". The spoken word part of the project provides it with a slightly experimental touch, but this is at it´s core still crossover thrash. The biggest attraction here is probably the cover of "Surfin' U.S.A." by the Beach Boys, but honestly even that track isn´t that great (although not completely without it´s charm). Billy Milano struggles to hit the right notes, which gives the cover a pretty raw and flippant sound, but pretty it ain´t. To my ears the highlight is "Surf´s Up", which is a nice little catchy crossover track.
The band are relatively well playing, and the sound production is also acceptable, so "Surfin' M.O.D." is overall a decent release by M.O.D.. There´s little here which really makes my blood boil, but a 3 star (60%) rating is still deserved.