Surf rock is a type of surf music, generally used to refer to music with a harder edge and quicker/more intense playing than typical surf or surf pop. While all surf music is rock, music called surf rock generally takes less inspiration from pop and doo-wop, and more from classic rock ‘n’ roll and more recently alternative rock. Newer surf rock often also uses overdriven guitars and other kinds of more “intense” distortion.

It’s the umbrella for surf punk and an influence for garage rock and punk rock, as well as their various offshoots.

Examples:

• “Uma Thurman” – Fall Out Boy
• “Freaks” – Surf Curse
• “The Future Is A Foreign Land” – Ghost
• “Malibu” – Hole