You may think surf music has gone the way of Brylcreem and the beehive, but that high-octane, reverb-drenched, guitar-driven instrumental rock is riding a new wave of popularity. Dick Dale, the 57-year-old ''King of the Surf Guitar,'' made a comeback last year and has just released a new album, Unknown Territory. Surf-music reissues are flooding the market, led by Del-Fi Records' ''Original California Surf Series'' — a collection of original albums and new compilations featuring the likes of soon-to-be-Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and the Centurions, whose 1962 song ''Bullwinkle P. II'' is featured in the soundtrack to the upcoming film Pulp Fiction. And a new generation of surf rockers, including groups like the Aqua Velvets, the Mermen, and the Singing None, has surfaced on the West Coast, where the music has always been a regional phenomenon.
Today's younger (mid-20s to mid-30s) surf bands range from purists like the Eliminators to the Halibuts, who add ukuleles and mandolins to their twangy guitars. All the bands share the same goal as their forefathers: replicating the sensation of riding the curl. ''People talk about blues as an indigenous art form,'' says Mel Bergman, guitarist for the Bay Area-based Phantom Surfers. ''Well, surf music is no less valid a form. It's white teenage suburban kid music. It's like a folk art, and we're just trying to keep it alive.''
Ironically, Dale — whose ''Let's Go Trippin''' launched surf guitar in 1961 — hasn't hung 10 in years. A fervent environmentalist, he's convinced our waters are too polluted. ''Snowboarding is the future,'' he announces, ''because the snow's still white. It hasn't turned yellow yet.''
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