"I'm too young to be defeated"

I guess I will keep the music reviews rolling with a band that I discovered during the near-end of last year:

Surfer Blood is a five-piece band that hails from West Palm Beach, Florida. In recent reviews of their debut album, "Astro Coast," the band has been compared to Pavement, Weezer (circa 1993), and the melodic stylings of Brian Wilson.

Like other bands of late, Surfer Blood met around the college-age, but even though some of their songs (like "Fast Jabroni") were recorded in their dorm room at the University of Florida, not all of the members graduated--by choice. In an interview with SPIN Magazine, lead singer JP Pitts says, "I got some cash for college from the state government because I had good grades, but I ended up using a bunch of it to buy microphones... Good ones."

"...One lyric in "Fast Jabroni"...sums up the blossoming of many a collegiate romance. "We'll still pretend to be lightweights / My arms and legs, they will grow soft around you," sings front man John Paul Pitts. The numbing of one's limbs due to exorbitant amounts of alcohol consumption has never been put so romantically." (NYUnews.com)

And since this is a film blog: In one of my favorite songs, "Twin Peaks," the surf-rock band even makes references to director David Lynch and his 1990 television series by the same title. Twin Peaks, the show, follows the investigation of the murder of a local homecoming queen. However, the song not only pokes at the show and Lynch, but also the pains of growing up: "Why is everything a chore? / I'm too young to be defeated...I know things could be different / If I were older and less afraid / You don't have to make excuses / I'm already on my way."

Oh, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart... but that's for another time.


...So if you are looking for a fresh alternative to the one-too-many Vampire Weekend singles we've been hearing on TV--something with crunchy riffs, hooks, and TONS of mind-blowing reverb, then Surfer Blood is the band for you.


"Twin Peaks" MP3: Surfer
"Swim (To Reach the End)" MP3: Blood
"Fast Jabroni" MP3: Rules

Review by NYU News: Yuh