After a string of seven-inch singles, Fu Manchu released their full-length debut in 1994 on Bong Load, the L.A.-based record label that was also home to such California misfits as Beck. Where Fu Manchu borrowed from heavy rock forbearers like The Melvins, they were the first to make the music fun rather than confrontational. The quartet had grown up in the '70s on the beaches of Orange County, and to them, these squalling riffs reflected a spirit of stoned merriment and surfside flair. It’s a party album, without a doubt—one that swings as often as it attacks.