Surfer Blood's Astro Coast hold its own against the best in power pop

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      Surfer Blood
      Astro Coast (Kanine)

      If you’re looking for a concise summary of everything that’s happened in indie rock over the past decade, look no further than the Florida outfit Surfer Blood. Contemporary reference points and obscure generic labels abound on the group’s debut, Astro Coast, which offers sunny beach jams that aren’t nearly as sinister as the band’s name (nor the great white shark on the album cover).

      Lead single “Swim” piles delay-soaked vocals on top of muscular power-chord riffs and thundering drums, evoking the bourbon-fuelled fury of My Morning Jacket. Then, just one song later, “Take It Easy” borrows its cheery syncopations from Vampire Weekend, a West African guitar line dancing on top of clip-clopping percussion and a nursery-rhyme vocal line. Elsewhere, the David Lynch–referencing “Twin Peaks” sounds like a long-lost cut from the Shins’ Oh, Inverted World, until it bursts into a clattering, flute-laden instrumental break. It’s a mark of the band’s talent that this flute jam comes off as an effective moment of contrast, rather than unbearably whimsical.

      Of the 10 tracks here, not one falls flat, and the four-piece offers up enough hooks to hold its own against the best in the power-pop business (your move, Carl Newman). Astro Coast won’t win any awards for innovation, but it serves as a compelling reminder of just how good indie rock has been over the past decade. And with bands like Surfer Blood around to carry the torch, there’s no reason to think that the next 10 years won’t offer more of the same.

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