Surf Curse | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 2012 | –present
Labels |
|
Members | Jacob Rubeck Nick Rattigan Noah Kohll Henry Dillon |
Website | surfcurse |
Surf Curse is an American indie surf rock band formed in 2012 in Reno, Nevada, and now based out of Los Angeles. [1] [2] The band was originally formed by Nick Rattigan (lead vocals and drums) and Jacob Rubeck (guitars), and now also includes Henry Dillon and Noah Kholl. The band achieved mainstream success after their song "Freaks", written in 2011 and first released in 2013, became popular on the short-form video platform TikTok in 2020. [3] [4]
Surf Curse was formed in 2012 by Nick Rattigan and Jacob Rubeck in Reno, Nevada, initially under several other names including "Buffalo 66" in reference to the film of the same name. [5] The band soon moved to Los Angeles, where they played at The Smell, a club that welcomed bands with similar sounds to that of Surf Curse's punk-surf rock. There, they became a part of the local all-ages punk scene. [6] Simultaneously, Rattigan continued working on his solo project, performing as Current Joys. [7] Also in 2013, the band independently released both the EP Sad Boys and their debut album Buds . [8] The latter featured the song "Freaks", written in 2011 when Rattigan and Rubeck were both aged 18. [7]
The band established a growing Los Angeles fanbase, allowing them to play at the October 2016 Beach Goth Festival before an audience that included non-local attendees. Their second album, Nothing Yet , was released in January 2017 through Danger Collective. Rattigan and Rubeck described Nothing Yet as reflecting their lifelong influence by movies, saying that the song "The Strange and the Kind" could fit on the soundtrack of a modern Dazed and Confused . [6] The band remained somewhat successful, albeit underground, through the 2019 release of their third album, Heaven Surrounds You . [7] This third album was praised for Rattigan's vocals and its lead track "Disco", with its fast pace compared favorably to Vampire Weekend's debut, but criticized for reliance on clichés within its lyrics. [9] The lyrics of the album's final song "Jamie" and its repeated line of "I love the people in my life, all my friends keep me alive" have been identified as particularly moving. [9] [8]
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns in 2020, Surf Curse were unable to continue performing live. However, in 2020, the song "Freaks" began drawing attention on the short-form video platform TikTok. The song's angsty lyrics, particularly "I am just a freak", made it compatible with TikTok meme formats that played it in the background. "Freaks" has been described as a "soundtrack [for] whatever you're cringing about", [7] though its second life on TikTok has been distinguished from other songs that saw a resurgence on the app. Generally, songs that received renewed interest through TikTok were recently featured in movies of television shows, unlike the rather obscurity that "Freaks" had previously enjoyed. Rattigan said he would have also been happy with the song gaining traction had it been featured on the soundtrack to the then-upcoming film Avatar: The Way of Water ; Rubeck joked that the unusual variety of videos featuring the song—including gardening tutorials and thirst traps—meant they "had to just stop watching them". [3] The two said that they neither understood nor used TikTok. [7]
The popularity of "Freaks" came almost simultaneously with accusations that both Rattigan and Rubeck engaged in sexual misconduct with fans. Danger Collective severed ties with Surf Curse at the time of the allegations. [7] An anonymous allegation against Rubeck was retracted and two against Rattigan were similarly deleted; both band members denied the allegations. In August 2020, Rubeck stated: "There hasn't been a moment in my life that even comes close to what was described in that post." [7] The allegations were made around the same time that Burger Records, which had organized the 2016 Goth Beach Festival, folded during a wave of similar allegations in the Southern California punk scene. [7]
After being rereleased as a single in May 2021 following the band signing with Atlantic Records, "Freaks" reached number 64 on the UK Singles Chart and number 17 on Billboard 's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, eight years after it first appeared on Buds. [10] [7] The song is RIAA certified Platinum and, as of October 2022 [update] , has more than 650 million streams. [11] Billboard recognized Surf Curse as the second-ranked artists of 2021 in their category New Rock Artists. [12]
Following their signing to Atlantic Records, Surf Curse added bassist Henry Dillon and guitarist Noah Kholl to their lineup. Both Dillon and Kholl had toured with the band pre-pandemic; Rattigan said of adding them: "I think the sort of the connection that me and Jacob felt with each other when we started the band, we also felt with Noah and Henry." [3] As a now four-member band, Surf Curse released Magic Hour in 2022. As with their other album covers that featured the band members, all four are featured on the cover art of the album. [13] The album's release had been preceded by the band performing at Coachella in Wizard of Oz –themed attire and the launch of the album's lead single "Sugar". The band began their North America tour for Magic Hour with a concert in Las Vegas on October 30, 2022, where each band member was dressed as a different iteration of Elvis Presley. [14] Magic Hour was received positively by critics, who identified its lyrics as more creative and a positive evolution of the band's sound and talent. [13] [3] [11]
Surf Curse's music has been described as surf rock, [15] lo-fi, [16] garage pop, [17] surf punk, [18] post-punk, [9] surf pop, [19] indie rock, [20] indie pop, [21] and jangle pop. [17] The band's live performances have been characterized as "bedlam" and "bonkers", with Rattigan saying that a particularly energetic set at Pappy & Harriet's resulted in the venue banning the band. [22] [23] Jaan Uhelszki, co-founder of Creem magazine, approvingly described Surf Curse as having a "party-tastic kind of music". [24]
Title | Details |
---|---|
Buds | |
Nothing Yet |
|
Heaven Surrounds You |
|
Magic Hour |
|
Title | Details |
---|---|
Sad Boys |
|
Surf Curse on Audiotree Live |
|
Freaks (Remixes) |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Bub. [25] | US Rock [26] | AUS [27] | CZ [28] | GRE [29] | IRL [30] | POR [31] | SK [32] | UK [33] | WW [34] | ||||
"Disco" [35] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Heaven Surrounds You | |
"Midnight Cowboy" [36] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Hour of the Wolf" [37] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Freaks" [upper-alpha 1] | 2021 | 17 | 10 | 95 | 47 | 45 | 60 | 112 | 45 | 64 | 136 | Buds | |
"Sugar" [40] | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Magic Hour | |
"TVI" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Lost Honor" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Self Portrait" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Arrow" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have little promotion or lack a successful launch but gradually develops a fandom following media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. As Variety puts it, "A 'sleeper hit' can be defined as the kind of show that catches us by surprise—programs whose popularity grows over time and can ultimately outshine the preordained hits." A sleeper hit often lacks star performers or high production values, but prevails, at times against its own makers' expectations, on the strength of such qualities as narrative, approach, or novelty, as well as market accidents. Sleeper hit films benefit theater owners because the owners keep a larger percentage of money from ticket sales.
"Dreams" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written by singer Stevie Nicks for the band's eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours in March 1977, while in the United Kingdom, the song was released as the third single in June 1977. A stage performance of "Dreams" was used as the promotional music video.
"Beggin'" is a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and first released as a single by American band the Four Seasons in 1967. Initially charting at number 16 in the US Billboard Chart, the song became popular in the Northern soul scene in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. It has been covered multiple times, with versions by Norwegian hip-hop duo Madcon and Italian rock band Måneskin topping music charts in Europe and beyond. The Four Seasons' version was remixed in 2007 by French DJ Pilooski and re-released as a single, reaching number 32 in the UK Singles Chart, commercially outperforming the band's original release in the UK.
"Tik Tok" is the debut single by American singer Kesha, who co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on August 7, 2009, as the lead single from her debut studio album, Animal (2010).
"Spirits" is a song by Canadian indie folk band the Strumbellas. It was produced by Dave Schiffman and was released as a single from the band's third album, Hope, in 2016.
Nicholas Foster Rattigan is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, journalist and music video director, originating from Reno, Nevada. He currently releases music under the moniker Current Joys. He also is the drummer and lead singer of the indie surf rock band Surf Curse.
Michael Ian Olmo, known professionally as Iann Dior, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his guest apperance on 24kGoldn's 2020 single "Mood", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his sole entry on the chart. He signed to Internet Money Records and 10K Projects prior to the release of his debut album, Industry Plant (2019), which was followed by On to Better Things (2022)—both of which entered the Billboard 200.
For music from a year in the 2020s, go to 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
"Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head)" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Canadian rapper and singer Powfu featuring Filipino-English singer-songwriter Beabadoobee. The song was initially uploaded to SoundCloud and YouTube in 2019; following Powfu signing to Columbia Records and Robots + Humans, the song was released on streaming services on February 8, 2020. The song samples the 2017 song "Coffee" by Beabadoobee, who is credited as a featured artist.
"ILY (I Love You Baby)" (stylized in all lowercase), originally titled "ILY", is a song by American producer Surf Mesa featuring vocals by Emilee Flood, from the 2021 EP Another Life. It was first released on November 26, 2019. When the song was re-released through Astralwerks and Universal in February 2020, it started gaining popularity through user-generated clips on the app TikTok. The song has since topped the Romanian Airplay 100 chart. It further reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Switzerland, as well as the top 40 in Australia, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, and Norway. The song is a basic rendition of the chorus from the 1967 song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli.
Surfaces is an American music group based in College Station, Texas. Their music is a blend of surf music, jazz, soul, pop rock, hip hop, reggae, and calypso. They have released four studio albums. Their first independent studio album, Surf, was released in 2017.
Cole Chase Hudson, known professionally as Huddy, is an American singer, actor, and social media personality, known for co-founding the TikTok collective the Hype House, and popularizing the e-boy fashion style and subculture. A 2020 article in Billboard Magazine rated him as one of the top 10 music influencers on TikTok that year, with over 30 million followers, and one of the most influential people on the platform. He has also been cited by Paper as an important figure in the 2020s pop punk revival.
Jaden Isaiah Hossler, formerly known professionally as Jxdn, is an American singer-songwriter and TikTok personality from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hossler rose to prominence on the video sharing app TikTok in 2019 before beginning a music career in early 2020 with the release of his debut single "Comatose".
Heaven Surrounds You is the third studio album by American indie surf rock band Surf Curse. It was released on September 13, 2019.
"Freaks" is a song by American surf rock band Surf Curse. It was originally released in 2013, from the band's first studio album Buds. The song was re-released as a single on May 15, 2021, via Atlantic Records. The song later went viral in summer 2021, seeing mass use on social media platforms like Tiktok.
"Meet Me at Our Spot" is a song by American duo the Anxiety, consisting of American singers Willow Smith and Tyler Cole. It was initially released through MSFTSMusic and Roc Nation on March 13, 2020, from the band's self-titled debut album. On October 5, 2021, the song was released as a single to contemporary hit radio.
"Bad Habit" is a song recorded by American musician Steve Lacy. It was released as the second single from his second studio album, Gemini Rights, on June 29, 2022. The psychedelic and lo-fi R&B and bedroom pop ballad was produced by Lacy and is built around a slightly warped guitar riff, which is accompanied by a funky bassline, drums, and synths. Lyrically, it concerns Lacy's regret over a missed opportunity with a crush. His lack of confidence later shifts to a more confident perspective during the song's final breakdown.
"Disco" is the 2019 lead single from the album Heaven Surrounds You by the band Surf Curse for the label Danger Collective. It was released on 12 June alongside a music video directed by band member Nick Rattigan The song, in part inspired by the film The Last Days of Disco, was praised for its use of guitar and percussion.
Magic Hour is the fourth studio album and major-label debut by American band Surf Curse and their first album with Atlantic Records. Produced by Chris Coady, it was released on October 7, 2022. The album received generally favorable reviews.
Buds is the debut studio album by American indie surf rock band Surf Curse. It was released on June 21, 2013. It contained the song "Freaks", which would become a viral hit on the video-creation platform TikTok.