Posted by Miss Kat Jade on August 8, 2010
Surfer Blood are some sweet looking Californian boys, who sound like a mix of Weezer blended with the Beach Boys, with a dash of falsetto camp added for jazz.
The boys played their last Australian show at the Manning Bar after some hectic touring with Splendor. Manning Bar, slap bang in the middle of Sydney Uni, was teeming with indie kids, students and bad haircuts, throwing me back to the days of beer in plastic cups and hangovers on Tuesdays. A fitting location for this campus-driven rock music.
They seemed a little worse for wear; even ‘Swim’ one of Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs of 2009 sounded a little dull. Regardless, the set was punctuated with great power-cord guitar riffs and hooks that kept you swaying and your foot tapping along. The wild-haired percussion player was the most enthusiastic of the lot, bouncing and belting his cow bell with enthusiasm.
Lyrics about girls, confusion, Twin Peaks and youth make up these simple, catchy songs of summer. With a little more studio time it feels like their music may get another layer of complexity to it, but at the moment it’s unashamedly fist pumping and hook riddled. The future of Surfer Blood shall remain to be seen with a new album and a few years under their belt. It’s not brain surgery, but for indie, heavy, guitar-laden pop songs it fits the bill to a T.
surfer blood, manning bar, splendour, sydney