As I write this article, I am on a 12-hour drive home from North Carolina. I have been cycling through activities including staring out the window mindlessly, reading All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald S. Passman, and studying for my AP Government class. I am bored out of my mind, or, at least, I was until I discovered the surf rock band Wavy Trees. The past few years I have dabbled in this sort of “surf garage band” sound but have never considered it in my wheelhouse to write about. In full honesty, I don’t know how to explain the washy guitar sound or how lead singer Zack’s voice is mysterious yet clear and profound. But, I have listened to enough of The Beach Boys and Skegss and have watched enough Disney Channel originals from the era of flip phones to know that Wavy Trees is something special. 

The three-piece band formed in 2019, with hopes of capturing a sound both fast and fun yet sentimental. Since then, they have done this and more. Their songs capture this feeling like it’s 2009 and you’re in Venice, California… You’re walking on a boardwalk and skateboarders zoom past you. You hear the sound of their rubber wheels hitting the wood over your cheap headphones, which are plugged into your iPod touch playing Weezer. You can smell the salt water (with a hint of weed) from where you are. The sun is shining and you just know it’s going to be a great day. That’s where I am immediately transported when I press “play” on Wavy Trees’ newest single “Growing Up.” The song touches on themes of coming of age, the struggles of acceptance, late-night partying, and friendship. In general, it is about recognizing the bittersweet truth that one day we all have to “grow up” and exchange the messy party life for work life. In order to truly capture this, Wavy Trees took a sample recording of people excitedly chattering before a Sublime concert in Long Beach, placing the recording at the beginning of the song. 

Wavy Trees has a refreshingly nostalgic sound. They describe themselves as being “the kind of band that makes you forget your phone exists,” and they do exactly that. Listening to them gives me an instant endorphin boost and makes me feel as though I am in sunny California in the middle of July, even if it’s currently the snowy winter in Buffalo, New York. Be sure to follow Wavy Trees on Instagram (@wavytreees) and listen to their new single “Growing Up” on your favorite streaming platform!