Trad surf bands will happily fly the banner of being a surf band. Their albums are typically a simple selection of good, upbeat songs and are happy with that humble scope. It's not 100% cut-and-dry, and I'm bending my own rules on a few bands here, but these are records that make me happy to be a surf nut. And a side note: I'm including bands that might not strive for a California 60's sound but are otherwise retro-mimicking.

The sophomore release from De Surfures has me wondering why I didn't pay much attention to their first. This album is full of punchy modern surf instrumentals with a great grit and momentum to them, with a few fun twists thrown into the mix. The mix on this is a little funky, with the percussion way up there and guitars at sometimes nearly subliminal levels, and it feels like that mixer is moving around pretty often. It takes some getting used to, but in the end I think I like it. It's a unique sound and it doesn't lose that core rock & roll feeling.