Savvy Show Stoppers

Like most surf-rock groups, much-loved combo Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet owe a huge debt to Duane Eddy and Link Wray, whose "Run Chicken Run" they cover here with ribald affection. Savvy Show Stoppers also includes the trio's biggest hit, "Having an Average Weekend," famously used as the theme for the TV show Kids in the Hall. (The association between the band and the actors can be traced back to the late '80s, when both haunted the Rivoli nightclub on Toronto's Queen West strip.) Here, cheeky winks to sci-fi and horror flicks sculpt the band's sinewy instrumental output as much as anything heard at the beach. No matter the source, the album is spectacularly fun. --Chris Nickson