Remember ‘Swim’ from Florida sunshine-punks Surfer Blood? The rousing Weezer-tinged call to arms put them on the map in 2009 but they have quietly been churning out sleeper hits ever since. The outstanding debut ‘Astro Coast’ (2010) was followed by the excellent ‘Tarot Classics’ EP (2011), ‘Pythons’ (2013) and this year’s ‘1000 Palms’.
‘1000 Palms’ feels like a return to form for a band who struggled with major label constraints from Warner Bros when birthing ‘Pythons’. This time they went back to basics, signing with indie label Fierce Panda. The quintet found themselves going full circle and returned to their DIY beginnings of recording in beat-up basements.
What has changed is the level of maturity in songwriting on display from singer John Paul Pitts. These bittersweet end-of-Summer melodies should be the perfect tonic to wash down those Autumnal blues.
Hope & Ruin, Monday 5th October 2015
