Search - Surfer Blood :: Astro Coast

A great new band with a lot of great influences

Jeff Loudon | Nashville, TN | 01/24/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After changing their name from Jabroni Sandwich in the spring of 2009, Surfer Blood generated a great deal of hype in the months that followed leading up to the release of Astro Coast, their debut album. On December 14, 2009, Pitchfork even listed Surfer Blood's lead single, "Swim (to reach the end)," as number thirty-seven on their list of the 100 best tracks of 2009.



Although Surfer Blood's name and the occasional use of a tremolo pedal might put them up against bands like the Beach Boys, the majority of their album is straight up indie rock. Every song seems to have glimpses of the beach, but their overall sound is much more complex. Astro Coast opens with "Floating Vibes," an incredibly catchy pop track which presents the surfer influence briefly halfway through with the use of heavy reverb and Dick Dale stylistic picking before returning to the fuzzed out guitar and driving drums that make the song memorable. There seems to be a heavy Silversun Pickups influence in the guitar tone which works exceptionally well for this song. The same influence is also present on the ninth track, "Anchorage."



The first single "Swim" follows "Floating Vibes" with what I can only describe as Animal Collective meets Weezer's "blue album." Every song on the album appears to pull ideas from a different band so it's no wonder this song led Surfer Blood to be instantly described as "Weezer-esque" without having heard anything else on the record. Vocals saturated with reverb lead the way on what will no doubt be a crowd favorite when performed live.



The final clear influence that can be heard in Surfer Blood's music is Vampire Weekend. This comparison is most easily drawn from the tracks, "Take It Easy" and "Fast Jabroni." It's possible fans of Vampire Weekend may shun Surfer Blood's music on account of being too similar, but the album as a whole successfully blends so many styles that I still consider this an incredibly successful debut. With a nod to David Lynch on "Twin Peaks" and the word "jabroni" in two of their track names, it's clear they wanted to let their fans know a little about them and how they got their start. They're young and still fairly new at making music together so I have no doubt they will only improve from here on out. Look for them to take the college market by storm this year.



Similar Artists: Vampire Weekend, Silversun Pickups



Track Suggestion: Floating Vibes"

A solid debut

E. M. Duckworth | Florida | 01/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled upon this album by accident as I do with a lot of new music that is just beginning to make its way 'round the blogosphere, and sometimes accidents are good. This album is highly cohesive for a debut and while it heavily borrows from other band's repertoires this is not a bad thing, if there is a successful formula then tweak it for your own benefit. Sorry if this review rambles a bit, I just felt like covering all the tracks.



The first track I heard was Floating Vibes, which is an excellent way to open an album and is a snapshot of what one can expect from this band. The e-string is just pounded again and again to create a catchy little melody which sets up the rest of the bands entry, I immediately was reminded of Pavement and the Beach Boys on holiday, if only for the singer's delivery. "Swim" is next and this is their single that has been out for a while, it too is a great song, in fact I can't really find a bad one on this album, in any event it begins with a bombast of distorted vocals and guitars, rousing into the chorus which surely will be a crowd sing-along and highlight. The third track, "Take it Easy" reminds me of Vampire Weekends African influenced tracks, but not heavily Vampire Weekended, it is clearly the band doing their own interpretation and by the chorus it changes into a straight up pop song. The fourth track, "Harmonix" is possibly my favorite on the album, there is a staccato riff that sounds and then stops for a few seconds throughout most of the song and takes a backseat to singer and the drums, but the best part of the song is the chorus which dissolves into a wash of noise sort of like MBV lite. The song finishes with the same riff, going on perhaps too long and repetitively, however it's spell counters any boredom for me. Track 5 is "Neighbor Riffs" which is an instrumental track, thus garnering the worst track in my opinion, and it's not a bad track, it just doesn't have any vocals. "Twin Peaks" is next, a great catchy riff perpetuates the track which seems to be about teenage sexual experiences in college, sounds of people talking perhaps at a party appears in an instrument section. Track 7 is "Fast Jabroni" which is followed by "Slow Jabroni", and yes the fast one is the faster track. Fast Jabroni reminds me of the Stone Roses for some reason, while Slow Jabroni begins very slowly and rather boring for me, but at about the half way mark it transforms into a wonderful sped up riff that reminds me of the longer songs done by The Shins, basically these guys have studied their influences and its great. "Anchorage" is the longest track by about 20 seconds and this is very early Modest Mouse-Built to Spill in structure alone, the vocals don't recall Isaac Brock at all. It finishes with a 2-3 minute instrumental breakdown high-lighting really the only "soloing" done on the album. The album raps up with "Catholic Pagans" which begins with a wonderful guitar melody and a backing guitar that strums a quick almost Italian restaurant eating music riff before stopping for the vocals to come in. The main guitar riff is a repeated, warm toned riff that instantly made me think of "shady lane" by Pavement, this track is my second favorite, its a true gem.



All in all this album is a 9/10 for me, it's about as good a debut as you could ask from guys in their early 20's, if any indication of their musical abilities we should expect great things from Surfer Blood. The album is going for $5.99 digital download off Amazon, its the cheapest best album I've ever gotten."

Great debut

Mark Wiatrowski | Williamsburg, VA | 03/28/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is music that should be popular. This is a truly golden album with golden material. These guys should be the next Pavement, this album is a triumph with great songs. Can't wait till the mainstream audience realizes what they're missing."