The Riptide Rats released their latest album, Waves Of Steel, on November 20. The album is a 12-track instrumental surf album rooted in first wave tone and early rock ’n’ roll punch, shaped by spaghetti western style tension and a modern edge. Familiar surf language, but played tighter, harder and with more attention to phrasing, rhythm and momentum than the vintage era allowed.
HEAVY recently caught up with the band to find out more.
HEAVY: At what point did the creative process start for your most recent release, and what were your initial ideas about how it should sound/be?
TRR: For Waves of Steel, we didn’t set out with a strict blueprint. It started as individual moments. A riff here, sometimes some of us had almost a complete song. As we started with some single releases, it became clear we wanted the record to be a mix of the best, big surf twang, spaghetti western, and energy that hits hard but feels natural.
H: What was the journey like from that point to the final/finished release? Can you tell us a bit more about the creative journey?
TRR: The journey from the first ideas to the finished release was very hands-on and creative. Most of it happened in the shed, where riffs and song parts slowly turned into full tracks. Once we had a basic skeleton for a song, it opened things up. We could experiment freely with different instruments, sounds, and layers.
H: How did you get to the release title, and what does it mean to you?
TRR: Waves of Steel was originally the name of the song, a title our drummer Fredrik came up with. It sounded cool and captured the feel of the track, surfy but with more grit and punch. It felt natural to use it as the album title as well
H: What do you want your latest release to do for the representation of your band/project?
TRR: We want it to show people that we’re not just nostalgic or genre boxed. We are instrumental surf rock with an attitude, influenced by trad surf but also rock and western. It should also be music for people outside the surf music community.
H: Tough question time. What was the most rewarding moment when putting together your latest release, and why?
TRR: I would say the most rewarding moment was reading all the kind words the album has received, and having people come up to us saying they really like it. That feedback feels like a stamp of approval and also a sign that we actually did something right and that the music connected!
H: Finally, what else can we expect to see from you as we head into 2026?
TRR: We’ve got live shows lined up, some in Sweden and Finland already announced. More to come. We are also working in the studio on our next album, and we hope it will be out later this year!
Official Webpage: www.riptiderats.com
Official webshop merch/audio: https://theriptiderats.bandcamp.com
