Album Review #8

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
genre: indie rock
released: Jan. 19, 2010
label: Kanine Records

Here comes what will be one of, if not the best new band of the year in Surfer Blood. Their hit single "Swim" brought on a wave of high expectations for their debut album, Astro Coast, which should ultimately reach all your lofty expectations and keep you listening. What makes this album so great is its catchy simplicity with its major theme being the guitar throughout. With a classic indie rock feel reminiscent of Pavement, this Florida foursome creates multiple comparisons to bands from the nineties, all the way up the ladder to Weezer's rung. Not too bad of a response if I must say so myself.

Once you dive into this album, you are hooked onto one guitar riff after another. The beauty I find in this is that any song could be your favorite on this album, it's that good. And not only do the guitars entrance you, but the vocals are very strong on this album too. If I could sum this album up into one word, I would have to say melodic. It's a very raw, stripped down version of indie rock that traces back to the roots of the genre. Fortunately, they take ideas from some more modern bands as well.

Sufer Blood throws in little influences of other genres as well on their debut. The album has a very pop-influnced feel, while still taking pages out of the books of both The Shins and Vampire Weekend. They use a nice array of instruments from multiple genres on each track that all provide for a catchy song. All this coming from a band who created their album in their college dorm room, this says a lot about how solid this album is.

Overall, there is really nothing to complain about. They keep you happy from beginning to end and even include their hit single "Swim" on the album. Surfer Blood hits the nail on the head here with a strong foot in the door for early 2010's bright spots. I'm definitely considering going to see this band live due to how much I like the album, and I'm sure they'd put on a great show. They put such a great feel into an album that could very easily resonate live on stage, and this band will continue to expose new listeners to their extremely catchy sound throughout the calendar year.


Favorite tracks: Swim, Take It Easy, Twin Peaks

For fans of: Pavement, Weezer, The Shins

Surfer Blood's myspace