Surf's Up by The Beach Boys


The Beach Boys are a curious artifact. Despite Brian Wilson's excessively brilliant songwriting, they are often seen as markers of an Americana gone by. They suffer from cultural cringe, respected enough in their time to inspire Sgt. Pepper, but trapped enough by that era that listening to them in 2022 feels outdated. Their barber-shop melodies coupled with the awkward stage presence of Wilson leaves them feeling like a relic. So why go back to their 1971 album? Put simply: it rips.

Being an Australian, I am well familiar with cultural cringe. Our biggest export is Crocodile Dundee, still the highest grossing Australian film. While Paul Hogan has damned me to a lifetime of hearing "shrimp on the barbie" while traveling in the US, The Beach Boys have given me some incredible songs so I suppose it evens out. Surf's Up is an elegaic mediation on climate change, at a time when climate change wasn't even considered a real thing. The opening track "Don't Go Near The Water" discusses the pollution of our seas. The lyricism can be hokey ("the ocean's a bubblebath") but the dressing up of apocalyptic lyrics in a bright barber-shop number is brilliant, drawing attention to the damage being caused through the use of traditional Beach Boys iconography. The breakdown in the final minute is exquisite, bringing a meditative feel to the piece. Following it is "Long Promised Road", a fun little ditty about beating what fate throws at you. It's a pleasant track about overcoming adversity. "Take A Load Off Your Feet" showcases why the Beach Boys carry that cultural cringe factor, it's a song about footcare. Literally about footcare. It's not very good. "Disney Girls (1957)" is a nostalgic mediation on times gone by and the people who lived through them. I've seen it referred to as a "wistful waltz" and that feels accurate. One of the best songs on here for my money.

"Student Demonstration Time" is a weird one. It collects examples of student demonstrations in the US set to a rolling blues number. It's hard to get past the lyrics but once you do, it's a toe-tapper. "Feel Flows" was the final track in Cameron Crowe's 2000 classic, Almost Famous. It's ethereal, and flows like the title suggests. "Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)" brings some psychedelia to the table, and kicks off an incredible final stretch, with the next three songs written by Brian Wilson. "A Day In The Life Of A Tree" is my favourite track on here, detailing the life and death (from pollution) of a tree. It's gorgeous, and the sparse instrumental aids the pain the lyrics project. It eventually explodes into a beautiful combination of harmonies and organ. Truly, a capital G Great song. Wilson has said of "Til I Die" that "Lyrically, I tried to put nature in there. Earth, water, rocks and leaves". He frames himself as an object in the mass of nature, being moved by forces beyond his control. It's a doom-filled sentiment, but the metaphors work, backed up by lovely instrumentation. Written by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson, the closing track "Surf's Up" conveys a sentiment of doom and gloom, yet recognises the human urge for perseverance by the end. The two sides of the song relay a spiritual awakening, and the instrumentation matches this grandiosity. The second side is just beautiful, closing out a somewhat uneven masterpiece with harmonies and piano.

"Surf's Up" is a flawed album, with its best songs coming in the second half. Yet it is that flawed nature through which it works, finding that an everything and the kitchen sink approach leads to a mixed bag of great ideas and great ideas that simply didn't pan out. For my money, it's the best thing the Beach Boys have ever done, and while some tracks relay the cultural cringe the Boys are associated with, some of the best songwriting of the 70s is on display here. A mixed bag, but one worth your time. Let it sit for a while and I think eventually you'll agree, Surf's up is a flawed masterpiece.

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