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*** David Thomas and Two Pale Boys

SURF’S UP

(Thirsty Ear)

That post-punk pooh-bah David Thomas continues to make music more than a quarter-century after the formation of his legendary out t Pere Ubu is impressive enough. That his prodigious output continues to explore and create on the fringes of experimental rock is simply extraordinary. For his latest outing, the itinerant vocalist hooks up with Two Pale Boys Keith Moline and Andy Diagram, who coax junkyard symphonies from an unusual assortment of instruments, including melodeon, guitar, trumpet, and assorted electronics.

The opening “Runaway” begins with Thomas’s ghoulish incantation of the early Beatles rallying cry “Yeah yeah yeah.” Then the song turns positively Lynchian: Moline’s guitar and Diagram’s treated trumpet trade machine-gun fire, a bass pulsates like Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart,” and Thomas’s fidgety vocals heighten the sense of menace. The Mediterranean-sounding “Man in the Dark” shifts the mood to somber introspection. Surf’s Up’s highlight is the title track, a daring cover of the Beach Boys number. Although Thomas’s contorted voice is an unlikely replacement for the original’s blanket of pitch-perfect harmonies, the results are surprisingly effective and touching.

— Patrick Bryant