The Beach Boy’s second album, Surfin U.S.A., highlights the improvements the group had made to refine their craft, both instrumentally and vocally, since their initial album. Noticeably more polished than their first effort, the voices are now double-tracked, and there is more congruity between the songs - showcasing the lightyears of maturity the Boys’ made in the few months since their first album.

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‘Surfin U.S.A.’ made it to #3 on the Billboard charts in the spring of 1963 and is absolutely electric compared to the primitive acoustical feel of 'Surfin' Safari'. One of the mellower tracks on the album, ‘Farmer’s Daughter’ demonstrates Brian’s excellent writing abilities and showcases his falsetto. The group tackles Dick Dale’s challenging ‘Misirlou’ as Carl double picks the melody while the rest of the group (minus Love) backs him up. A simple one-word intro from Mr. Love kicks off the group’s first original instrumental; ‘Stoked.’ Another first, an Usher–Wilson collaboration, the ‘Lonely Sea’ was reportedly written in less than 20 minutes and perhaps foreshadows Brian’s restlessness and unique chord structures that would come to fruition later in his career. ‘Shut Down,’ a detailed recounting of a drag race between a Dodge Dart and a Corvette Stingray, charted at #23 and features a rare (albiet two-note) sax solo from Mr. Love. ‘Noble Surfer’ is an extremely catchy track complete with an imaginative vibraphone solo. A simple cover of 1956’s ‘Honky Tonk’ is spiced up with another ultra-surf guitar solo by Carl. Some innovative boogie-woogie piano playing opens up the sweet ‘Lana’ while ‘Surf Jam’ remains a rather forgettable track in the canon. Another well-executed Dick Dale cover, ‘Let’s Go Trippin,’’ is delivered adequately. The comical ‘Finders Keepers' flies through an impressive number of key changes before landing in A before the fade-out - a staple of Wilson’s early arrangements.

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With the release of Surfin’ U.S.A., the Beach Boys cemented themselves as a serious band, proving that the group was fully capable of playing their own instruments; a point of contention early on in their career.