Tsons of Tsunami

Though he has become one of New York’s most inspired composers and energetic performers during the last 15 years, whether playing with JG Thirlwell or leading his great Tredici Bacci, Simon Hanes is actually a California kid. That is especially clear in Tsons of Tsunami, his long-running and ever-evolving band that takes the surf rock of his home state on a radical ride through the New York avant-garde. Hanes released his first records with Tsons a dozen years ago, with names like Quest for Crest and Fearless Riders of the Holy Curl suggesting his playful aims for this band. But he regrouped in recent years with a little less puns and an even more audacious lineup, making a seven-song, self-titled standout for John Zorn’s Tzadik.

Led by Hanes with a baritone guitar and an unabashed joie de vivre, Tsons of Tsunami now includes legendary percussionist Billy Martin and multi-disciplinary drummer Jon Starks. Kevin Newton offers another anchor with French horn, while two bassists, Anna Abondolo and Jesse Heasly, dance around the songs alongside Hanes. The band sometimes plays it relatively straight, as on “Dr20,” a joyous little surf adventure that briefly jaunts off toward math-rock. But Tsons’ mission statement might be “This One’s For You, Old Timer,” which drifts through an opening drone that is a feint before latching onto a jagged riff buoyed by Starks’ beat. The song slowly shifts into a maze, the rhythms building around Hanes’ guitar until it feels like he has no way out. It’s surf rock as an alleyway into experimental mayhem, played with complete jubilance.