This is the first set of albums included in this countdown. Though these may be lower on the list, being on the list at all is a great accomplishment, and if it were entirely up to me several of these would be much higher. That said, since these had fewer votes than higher on this list and there were more tie-breakers to decide, their position was a little less absolute and my thumb pressed on the scale a little bit more than it will in subsequent chunks.

For more details about how this list was decided upon, see this page.

There are some records that clearly stem from surf but that have gone so far into a new direction that they feel like they shouldn't be considered next to actual surf records. That very fuzzy line is basically up to my whim.

Argentina's Megatronadores impressed me with their first EP Wedwedn. It had a great wide open and free-floating feeling to it while still keeping a significant heft and drive. I had a feeling that with their follow-up they would only expand and try new things, and sure enough the result is a expansive, extremely creative work that makes for a wonderous listen even if its tether to surf is pretty thin.

I can't find much on Megatronadores outside this bandcamp page - no facebook, website, twitter -  but this looks like their first release and they have my attention! The opening track "Volcanica" is a great trad surf number with a nice and wet guitar tone and a great sense of danger ramped up by a swirling organ in the background. But then on "El Cuero" they start to get a bit more brave, constantly switching the tones of their instruments: surf to fuzz, keyboard to 80's synth, churchbells all of a sudden... and it works surprisingly well!