Khana Bierbood, erstwhile known as Strange Brew, are a band we've long kept tabs on. Currently touring Europe to packed-out crowds in support of their debut album Strangers from the Far East (released Jan 14), it seems the world is cottoning on. 

Formed in Bangsaen, Chonburi, way back in 2008, the band have been performing as Strange Brew since roughly 2014. The five-piece's psychedelic surf rock sound has won many admirers, including Stylish Nonsense's Wannarit "Pok" Pongprayoon, who once said of them: "This band is a kind of time machine, a surf picture of past decades.” 

 

 

Their debut album features tracks they've been honing live for at least half a decade, like "Bangsaen Lady" and "Starshine," and also boasts production credits from Go Kurosawa (of Japanese pscyh-folk kindred spirits Kikagaku Moyo). 

Fans of lo-fi garage rock—whether the trail-blazing '60s version or 21st-century revivalists like Thee Oh Sees and Black Lips—will find much to like in Khana Bierbood's trebly, washed-out sound that's fleshed out with obscure field recordings (the lapping waves of track 2 "Starshine" will transport you beachside) that threaten to drown out frontman Gob Yutthana's yelping vocals.

These seven tracks show surprising range, too: the catchy-as-hell "Plankton Boom" sounds like a West Coast radio relic from another time (we mean that as a compliment), while the ominously-titled "Bad Trip" finds the band charting denser heavy-rock terrain.  

Don't sleep on Khana Bierbood—the vinyl version of Strangers from the Far East is already sold out.