The Vara-Tones

The rise of surf music during the early 1960s brought attention to leading figures such as the Beach Boys, Dick Dale, and the Ventures, yet numerous comparable groups remained overlooked, among them the Vara-Tones. The Los Angeles outfit released only one single in 1964, their signature track “Repeto,” before disbanding. Thirty-six years later the four members—bassist Gary, drummer Rich, and guitarists Bill and Terry, each known solely by his first name—reconvened and delivered their debut full-length album, Jetty Subject to High Surf, on the Orchard label. The set combined newly tracked material with the original recording of “Repeto.”