Mary Ann Hawkins

Gremmy Awards 2025: Best Modern Surf Record

Best Modern Surf

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.

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Bandcamp Friday Roundup: May 2025

Liquid Germs - Return to Earth

I haven't done one of these for a while, but there have been a number of records I've wanted to make sure people heard lately, so now's a great time for a slew of mini-reviews! I'm going to try to limit myself to ~5 sentences per band, partially because I want to actually publish this on Bandcamp Friday, and also because I miss writing reviews in little nuggets like that.

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The Gremmy Awards 2022: Best Modern Surf Record

Best Modern Surf Gremmy

It's been, oh, 60 years since the surfquake and music has changed significantly. Everybody reading this website recognizes that there was something special in surf music, but it can also be crossbred to make new amazing sounds. You don't have to be trying to forge something new, sometimes you're just making the music that makes sense to you. No matter the case, here are the standouts in modernized surf music this year.

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(Not) Bandcamp Friday Roundup: June 2022

Well I thought today would be Bandcamp Friday. I typed up this whole article and then checked i and apparently the next one is in September. It's nice to have a roundup of reviews anyway. Here's some notable stuff to come out since the .

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