Album Review : Surfer Blood - Astrocoast

Surfer Blood – Astrocoast

US release : January 2010

   Surfer Blood are touring with hype band The Drums, but it’s not the reason why we’ll talk about their album. No, it’s not. It’s rather because I felt attracted to the crazy and weird music video for their song Swim. Released as the second single from the record, it is still relatively unknown in France. I personally could not stop listening to the album.
   I don’t think one is supposed to put words on this UFO, or qualify it as anything, but that's certainly a colourful album, which mixes loads of styles and influences. And I said loads.

  
   Writing this review, I realised that all the words I could write down would make you think they make pop music, but when you listen to the album, it’s not that simple.
   The guitars make it sound like pop music, but in the end it sounds more like post-rock. The voices are slightly crakling or are given a special tone thanks to a pedal resonance effect. It gives an old-fashioned / soft side to it, without being corny. Also, you can hear violins in Floating Vibes, and xylophones in Fast Jabroni. They both bring complexity to the songs. The bass line is really nice, as well as the drums in Harmonix or the child voices in Twin Peaks – even cats' sounds?
   The album sounds indie on the first two songs, while the rest flows to our ears, putting us in a perplexed state of mind. We are then left with the last two songs, which are definitely non-indie. It is within the songs themselves that you find this mix of influences. You have to expect an unexpected turn at every note- bridges and interludes are here very different from the rest of the songs. The lyrics are more ‘coherent’, since the titles illustrate well the themes that are dealt with.
   One thing is sure- this is a very indie and extremely promising album.  

  
   Here is a - partial - list of bands I thought of while listening to the album- maybe it will make you want to listen to it, or will just give you an idea of what it sounds like: Sonic Youth, Islands, Foals, The Penelope(s) & Morpheus, We Are Scientists, Annuals, The Big Pink, Dinosaur Jr. (they claimed they are a big influence), Fanfarlo, Pavement, Best Coast, A Place To Bury Strangers,... 
   I believe that if – in a hypothetical world - The Horrors were born in Florida, were tanned, and were not wearing black; their second album might have sounded like this one.