Surfer Blood – Astrocoast
I figured I’d keep this recent influx of posts going by delving in to a pair of albums that I’ve been listening to recently. The first is a nifty little debut entitled Astrocoast from Florida-based band, Surfer Blood.
What first drew me to this album was the band’s break-out track “Swim”, a song that almost catches you off guard at first with it’s reverb-drenched vocals. But once it breaks into the refrain of “Swim to reach the end”, it’s kind of hard not to get on board with the song’s anthemic quality. The rest of the album lives up this stellar track, and most of the songs are in the same guitar-driven, hooky vein.
The chunky electric guitars and catchy pop melodies definitely give the band a sound that’s easy to compare to the alternative rock bands of the ’90s. Songs like “Twin Peaks” and “Take It Easy” have an exotic rhythmic quality and there’s a fair amount of experimenting with song structure that makes Surfer Blood seem like more than just some Weezer throwback. However, the shorter poppier songs are where the band really finds its sweet spot, as the album’s two longer cuts “Slow Jabroni” and “Anchorage” both show the band trying to fit a few too many ideas into them.
It’s always nice to find an album that’s able to take the tried and true alternative formula of loud guitars and big choruses and breath a little bit of new life into it, and Surfer Blood manage to do it on this debut.
Favorite Tracks: “Swim”, “Twin Peaks”, “Catholic Pagans”