Review Summary: An excellent debut album for the Florida based indie band, Surfer Blood.
I may not be an expert reviewer, this being my first review on here, but I believe that Surfer Blood needs praise for this album. As their debut album, Surfer Blood, consisting of John Paul Pitts (vocals and guitar), Tyler Schwarz (drums), Tom Fekete (guitar and vocals), Brian Black (Bass and Vocals) and Marcos Marchesani (percussion) magnificently pulled together a collection of 10 great songs, starting with the song 'Floating Vibes' ending with 'Catholic Pagans'.
Hearing Surfer Blood for the first time, with their single 'Swim', I immediately thought that this band and album have the potential to be big. Not big in the sense that they're on the radio at least once an hour on mainstream radio stations and such, just in the sense that us Indie music lovers would recognize the name SURFER BLOOD instantly, or a reputation such as that of Arcade Fire, or some magnificent indie band. This five piece indie band from Florida has songs that sound like 'summer anthems,' and remind me of a combination of Vampire Weekend and We Are Scientists. The vocals of John Paul Pitts of Surfer Blood are seemingly similar to those of Keith Murray of We Are Scientists, but the content of the songs is comparable to that of Vampire Weekend's. Although I could make comparisons to other bands forever, there is no other band that captures the unique sound and quality of their music.
Through reading the band's bio on their Myspace I found that they are yet another band started during college, once again relating back to Vampire Weekend, who also started during college. Surfer Blood started in a dorm room at the University of Florida, "using musical equipment purchased with scholarship money," as said on their Myspace. The name Surfer Blood though, where did it come from? Well, they claim that none of them have "surfer blood in them," and the surfer kids were the people who made their high school experience unpleasant. Surfer Blood apparently came from a random phrase that one of the band members called out while in band's vehicle, saying that it was, "as good a naming process as any..."
"Spread your name across the world somehow.”
They say this in their opening song on the album, ‘Floating Vibes,’ a song with a crisp sound, and of excellent quality. No matter what the lyrics of each song consists of, they manage to keep that upbeat, summer anthem vibe throughout.
I would highly recommend this album to anyone that’s a fan of the Drums, Girls, Neon Indian, Vampire Weekend and anyone that wants to listen to an excellent debut album.
Hopefully this review wasn't too horrid to read...haha
“Swim to reach the end.”
