The combination of the Walkabouts’ Chris Eckman and the sharp surf-derived sounds of Croatia’s Bambi Molesters as The Strange was one of those good ideas out of the gate, as their 2004 debut handily demonstrated. With Andrej Jakus adding further pep on trumpet on various tracks and Phill Brown holding things down on engineering, Nights of Forgotten Films has both zip and spy-movie mood, Eckman’s singing bringing a lived-in intensity with ease. A couple of covers close it out, including a solid romp through Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Villiers Terrace.”

– Ned Raggett