Modern surf is always a large category because most of us by default are modern people doing modern things, creating modern works. So it's always going to be a big category. And its not really something you can define: it's not traditional surf, it's not too aggressive, but it's still surf, and that amorphousness also means that there's a lot of things that you could call "modern surf". So what I'm getting at here is hoo boy, do I have a lot of things on here. And when I have this many things you might think "well did anything not make the cut? Absolutely, there were a lot of good and even great surf records not on this list, a few that felt like snubs, and the crazy thing is I wanted to cut more. But the thing is, I couldn't! I felt like nearly all of these in their own way had a claim for the top spot. And especially interesting, they all brough something unique to the table, not even an opportunity for one to "cancel another out".

And I guess that's a good problem to have. So here are TWELVE very interesting and excellently crafted surf records, and one that after a LOT of thought, I decided I liked the most. In no specific order except for the last one.

I have to be careful about stuff like this, as I'm an easy target for overproduced maximalist surf music. Trying to peel back the layers of this, naming and following the instruments, would require some notes and probably a little pausing and rewinding, and sometimes when there's so much of that to do it's hard to answer the simple question: are these memorable songs? I've had this record for a few weeks now and I still don't know, I'm still lost in the dense instrumentation, but I suppose I can answer the most important question: am I enjoying myself? Yes.