When I was young music was like one undifferentiated sound. Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, bass – it all just melded together. Only later would the separate elements stand out for me in all their distinct glory. Instrumentals aid in this process, offering us a chance to really dissect a great song without the distractions of some attention-seeking lead vocalist. So here’s a bevy of instrumentals, ready for some heavy listening.

For many, rock instrumentals means surf guitar. That seems as good a place to start as any. Poland’s I. Jeziak and The Surfers kickstart the party with their energetic guitar-heavy workout “Surfer’s Stomp.” Such great organ backing! Surely these boys must be from Long Beach, California? Another act far from the Pacific Ocean surf swells are Toronto’s The Surfragettes. They too mine the surf guitar style catalogue, though their 2024 LP title track “Easy as Pie” easily slips such narrow genre confines. A multi-national cast of characters populate the band The Other Timelines and their works straddles the surf/spy guitar genres, well-illustrated on the peppy blast of guitar running through “The Saboteur.”

A separate line of instrumental tradition comes out the country gentleman guitar style of Chet Atkins that you can also hear in crossover 1950s rockabilly. Tasmania’s Mondo Quinn pays tribute to this sound on terrific his EP Going Places and opening cut “Travelling.” Equal parts Chet Atkins and George Harrison. Guitar virtuoso and member of Los Straightjackets Greg Townson takes these directions in a jazzy direction on his recent EP In Focus. Listen to how the horn section really elevates “Jack Rabbit” to something really classy. And then you have what Bill Lloyd delivers on his inventive all-instrumentals album Insta-mentals. I love how “Senor Discount” synthesizes a host of rock traditions from the 1960s into one powerhouse tune.

And now for somethings completely different. Let’s start with the always striking Get Set Go. The band’s 2024 all-instrumentals LP Machine Empathy was a whirlwind of idiosyncratic keyboard and guitar riffs that were nothing less than mesmerizing. Just feel the tension infusing “Watchbot Warns Waffling Workers Against Wavering.” The machines really may not be our friends! Toronto’s Cameronoise also put out a counter-hegemonic cultural plea recently with his EP What If We Just Stopped Using Their Money? “Fahrenheit 24-7” gives you a sense of dread and panic that you can squeeze out of a synth these days. I feel like I’ve featured Japan’s The Routes before, specifically their cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Oh well, no one will be harmed by hearing it again. And it is definitely worth hearing. It manages to manifeset all the beauty and sadness and desperation of the original with some killer twangy guitar.

Are they favourite instrumentals band? I think they must be. There is something so genre-escapingly fabulous about Los Straightjackets. As they protest, they are not merely a surf guitar outfit (though they’re not afraid to give the surf a run for its money). Instead they characterize themselves as a rock and roll instrumentals outfit. Their 2025 release Somos testifies to broad and eclectic style. They really draw from decades of rock and roll instrumentals traditions. “Two Steps Ahead” showcases this breadth and offers a distinctive take compared to songwriter Greg Townson’s solo version (that appeared on his In Focus EP).

Are you hearing those instrumental nuances? Then as one famous American drag queen once said, let the music play.

Photo courtesy Carbon Arc Flikr collection.