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Surfing Strange
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  • Record Label:
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Surfing Strange Image
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the second full-length release for the alternative rock band that includes Allison Crutchfield (her twin sister's solo project is Waxahatchee), Kyle Gilbride, and Jeff Bolt.
  • Record Label: Wichita
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock, Lo-Fi, Indie Pop, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Punk-Pop, Twee Pop
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. The Fly (UK)
    Nov 11, 2013
    80
    There’s a handful of ballads too--the surest sign of maturity--but just when we think they’ve given up the pacy numbers forever, they sucker-punch us at the death with the perfect one-two combo of ‘Unwanted Place’ and ‘Young’.
  2. DIY Magazine
    Nov 1, 2013
    80
    Surfing Strange has the band gliding over waves at record height, with barely a single hiccup.
  3. Spin
    Nov 6, 2013
    80
    "Indie rock" has long since ceased to be either "indie" or "rock," of course, but Surfing Strange signifies on both counts, just when we desperately needed a refresher on the fundamentals.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Nov 6, 2013
    70
    If you're looking for a guided tour of the eternal-turning-23 blues, you can't do better than the second Swearin' album.
  5. cokemachineglow
    Nov 14, 2013
    70
    Surfing Strange is a tight and coherent little album whose greatest strength lies in its youthful energy and sense of the ups and downs of the early twenties--the lows of uncertainty and malaise, and the highs of excitement and anticipation.
  6. CMJ
    Nov 8, 2013
    70
    Frustratingly, the album’s lowest point comes directly after one of its high points.... That’s not to say that Surfing Strange isn’t impressive as a whole.
  7. PopMatters
    Nov 14, 2013
    60
    Unfortunately, Swearin’s touchstones seem to be catching up with them, and the result is a strong album that nevertheless feels overtly, distractingly derivative in spots.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. jkauzlar
    Dec 21, 2013
    7
    This is a really fun record with a lot of sounds borrowed from the 90's. When it first started playing I thought the Superchunk guy hadThis is a really fun record with a lot of sounds borrowed from the 90's. When it first started playing I thought the Superchunk guy had started a new band, but every track after that had its own character, many based (on purpose, i don't know) on a different 90's band. Unfortunately, along with a lot of cool songs, there's a mix of 90's radio-punk style that IMO should stay in the past. Anyway, it's worth checking out and the band's obviously talented enough to release an amazing album sometime in the future.… Expand