Astro Coast

Astro Coast by Surfer Blood

Astro Coast is the debut album from the Florida band called Surfer Blood, released in January of 2010. Surfer Blood was already getting hype from the likes of Pitchfork before their album even came out, the first single from the album called "Swim" was on the Top 100 tracks of 2009 list. So needless to say, Surfer Blood had a lot of hype to live up to with their debut album and they somehow lived up to the expectation that Pitchfork had set up for them. "Swim" is a track that hooks you you right at the beginning of it and keeps you enthralled in it throughout the length of the song. The band showcases their blend of simplistic yet catchy guitar riffs and choruses that jump out at you and leave you humming them for the rest of the day. The majority of the album is very similar to the first single in the fact that it sounds very reminiscent of the early 90's indie of Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. and Weezer who have all clearly had a great influence on this band, and not to mention the surf rock aspects of the music as well. The clever blend of surf rock and the gritty distorted guitars of 90's indie makes the bands name all the more fitting, but Astro Coast is far more than a 90's rock imitation album.

The album starts out with "Floating Vibes", an upbeat song that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Just because the hooks and choruses are catchy doesn't mean that the lyrics don't still have substance to them. "Forget the second coming/I need you in the here and now" is just one of the many lyrics that seems to stick with you throughout the album and realize just how much there is to these early twenties indie rockers. The album continues to power through with much more of the same type of songs, that being probably one of the only quoms with this album. Aside from Slow Jabroni, Anchorage, and Catholic Pagans the album does have a very same-y feel to it, while it's a logical means of making an album with the mindset of "Don't fix it if it isn't broken" but too much of a good thing can still end up dragging on. However, Catholic Pagans is one of the strongest songs on the album, containing a much darker sound than the rest of the album and really showcasing that Surfer Blood can break out and be much more than the catchy indie surf rock band that they appear to be on the surface.

This young bunch of twenty-somethings are truly onto something here and if they can make an album as solid as Astro Coast from their dorms then one can only imagine what is to come from this band in the future. Between their catchiness, intricately calculated lyrics, and heavily distorted guitar riffs this band can truly rip up the indie scene within the next few years if they continue on the trail that they've blazed for themselves with this album. Only time can tell if they live up to the hype coming off of this album, but they certainly met and exceeded the expectations of the critics for their debut.

Rating: 8/10

Standout Tracks: Floating Vibes, Swim, Twin Peaks, Catholic Pagans