NYC’s best surf-rock band The Supertones strike instro gold yet again with their 2020 album Made In Japan. Not a particularly Eastern sounding set of instrumentals, the 12-track CD takes its place among the many great Supertones albums. Subtitled “Play Japanese Pop Hits”, Made In Japan was inspired by the Japanese Ventures tribute band called The Mizusawa Ventures. Made In Japan features a number of unusual tracks that are for the most part unknown, although track 2 actually features a rockin’ Supertones cover of Hank Marvin’s 1965 Shadows’ classic “Geronimo”, a favorite still with surf-rock bands worldwide. On Made In Japan, Tim Sullivan continues receiving top-notch support from long-time Supertones members Simon Chardiet (bass, producer) and Seth Lipscher (rhythm guitar) yet, for Made In Japan, the Supertones have enlisted the skills of a new drummer, J.J. Murphy, and he drums up quite a storm here, even sounding like a younger version of original Ventures drummer Mel Taylor. Recorded live in September 2020 at Oceanus Studio in Rockaway Beach, NYC, The Supertones’ Made In Japan is right up there among the finest instrumental surf-rock albums of 2020.