Review Summary: Astro Coast's soothing guitar riffs and base lines shine, yet bring no original sound.
Who exactly are Surfer Blood? This band out of Palm Beach, Florida has generated so much hype over the past months in the indie scene, yet they are still relatively unknown. The internet hyped this band after the release of their single “Swim.” But with the release of their first album Astro Coast, they look to change their unknown status and earn their hype.
Astro Coast, by no means, is any revolutionary sound. Surfer Blood takes sounds from bands like Vampire Weekend, The Shins, and The Beach Boys. However, it is the way they incorporated those sounds that makes this album special.
Astro Coast starts out with the gem “Floating Vibes” which gives the listener their first impression of Surfer Blood. They have a calm, relaxing vibe which is driven by some smooth guitar riffs and a relaxing base line. The song captures what the entire album sounds like in just 4 minutes. The next track, “Swim,” is the album highlight as it also strays away from the calm mentality of the album. The chorus of the song “Swim to reach the end” starts at a smooth and melodic sound. However, by the end of the song, vocalist JP Pitts breaks out into an almost frantic shout.
After “Swim,” the rest of the album stays at a calm and soothing mood with interesting guitar riffs that remind one of The Beach Boys. The 2 minute instrumental jam “Neighborhood Riffs” does just that as it provides the best bass line in the entire album. The song also brings that mood of hot summer days on a beach as one could just imagine these songs being played out on a beach somewhere. The songs “Twin Peaks,” “Harmonix,” and “Take it Easy” have that same feel.
While instrumentally this band is amazing, lyrically there is much to be desired. All of the songs have straight forward lyrics and are nothing special. While the last track “Catholic Pagan” tries to break this with the best lyrics on the album, it still is just a bit above average at best. It paints the story of a man growing up with the help of love. “when I met you I broke the mold/I fell apart and combed my hair,” Pitts tells. However, that is ignorable as Pitts shines his wonderful voice throughout the entire album.
While small and relatively unknown now, Astro Coast’s brilliance will definitely change all that. This album could bring them to be the next Vampire Weekend.
