Record Review: Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

By Alex Brenner

Surfer Blood has been getting some well deserved hype lately. From the opening chords of “Floating Vibes,” I have to say believe the hype. It’s about time another band came along and just played some good old fashioned 90′s indie rock. Why you ask? Because listening to a band sing harmonies over bloops and bleeps or afro-cuban rhythms is really lame. Not sure how that got started, but it needs to stop. I know this band will have hundreds of comparisons thrown at them and there are valid aspects of each for sure. Like Cymbals East Guitars and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, it may not be original but it’s an amalgamation of everything that good music should be, so how can you go wrong?

Astro Coast starts off with a bang. Guitars are the key to this record; they seem to carry the hook of every song. From the single “Swim” the album seems to shift to reverb drenched vocals and 60′s pop hooks with fuzz out guitars – think The Shins covering Jesus and Mary Chain. What really makes this record stand out is the fact that the songs are not self indulgent exercises to see how indie cool they can be. Surfer Blood’s “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” method keep things short and certainly sweet.

This record is the sound of youth. Lyrics like “Why is everything a chore? / I’m too young to be defeated” sound like the stuff of summer anthems. Songs like “Fast Jabroni” and “Slow Jabroni” back to back offer fist pumping hooks and then somber distorted acoustics. The songs cover the gamut from tender tones to rocking out but never quite hit too quick a pace. “I don’t wanna spin my wheels” sings John Paul Pitts towards the end of the record. With titles like “Take It Easy” and “Floating Vibes” it does not sound like this band is in a hurry either.

This is a fine debut from a fairly young band. Although they have only been around for less than a year, they’ve toured relentlessly and gained quite a following one listener at a time. Surfer Blood, like several other bands mentioned earlier, have a knack for taking a bunch of influences and adding their own dynamic to it which is what makes this record enjoyable.

After listening to this record a few more times it reminds me most of Pixies Doolittle-era style songs – which is definitely a complement. For people who just don’t get Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear this record is for you.

Surfer Blood will be at the Drunken Unicorn on February 19. Get your tickets through Ticket Alternative or TA vendors like Decatur CD. We expect they won’t last long.

Listen: Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes