I define this category as bands that are still ostensibly playing surf music, but aren't necessarily trying to sound like a band from the 60's. Similar spirit, but allowing newer influences, "non-standard" equipment, and are generally using surf music more as a jump-off point than a restraint. This is often the sort of "main event" of the Gremmys, the category that defines the most groups and often the most attention-getting groups. This year was a doozy. My initial list was over twenty candidates, and though I've narrowed it down considerably, I'm not sure this category has ever been this crowded. However, I spent a long time getting here, and I believe every single one of these are the cream of this year's crop.

It's kind of a given when doing a review that the band is, well, a band, and the album is an album. Truthfully I don't think I understand what Chung Kings are. Their facebook description is "Chung Kings is a moveable feast of like-minded musicians expressing its love for Lo-Fi Surf, Ethio-Jazz, Latin, Rhythm & Blues and Exotica." I'm not sure that really clarifies it much. They've described this album as a compilation, which explains the names of groups in parentheses.