A gritty and melodic Nevada-bred guitar-and-drums duo who later became a fixture of Los Angeles' D.I.Y. garage and punk scenes,
Surf Curse aligned themselves with the artist-run Danger Collective label where they released albums like 2017's Nothing Yet and 2019's
Heaven Surrounds You. The sudden viral success of "Freaks," a song they'd released years earlier, earned them a deal with Atlantic, which issued the new song "Sugar" in early 2022.
The project of drummer and singer Nick Rattigan and guitarist Jacob Rubeck,
Surf Curse formed in Reno in 2013, issuing their first album, Buds, later that June. An EP, Sad Boys, appeared in October, after which the band relocated to L.A., where they began to establish themselves in the city's vibrant underground scene. By 2017, they'd reemerged as part of the Danger Collective and released their second album, Nothing Yet. An update on the simplistic style of their debut,
Surf Curse's sound began to soften somewhat as they explored new tones and slightly more complex song structures. This trend carried over to their third LP, 2019's
Heaven Surrounds You, which was inspired by Rattigan and Rubeck's favorite cult movies.
In 2021,
Surf Curse found unexpected success when their 2013 song "Freaks" became a viral sensation on the TikTok video platform. After Atlantic signed them and re-released "Freaks," the song continued to put up huge streaming numbers. The significantly mellower "Sugar," released in early 2022, better represented
Surf Curse's 2020s sound. ~ Timothy Monger