I have yet to jump aboard the 'surf pop' band wagon. I never really got it... A sport inspired genre played by skinny white boys with a nostalgic affection for the Beach Boys. I do like the style though. It's refreshing and relaxed like a hot summers day on the coast, and New Zealand surf-poppers Surf City are riding the sickest swell from Mt. Roskill to well... everywhere really with the release of their debut album 'Kudos.'
To be fair Surf City (originally called Kill Surf City) shouldn't be pigeon-holed as 'surf pop' as this is merely a label given to a recent extension of indie music attributed to the likes of The Drums and Surfer Blood. Surf City have been around since 2004 and define themselves as 'shoewave' (shoe-gaze / dream wave?). They play what I would describe as sometimes dreamy, sometimes frantic, sometimes buoyant, sometimes gloomy guitar pop. Like the wind blowing sand into your sunburned face as you walk hand in hand with your beach-bronzed summer lover... It's bittersweet, but mostly sweet.
Surf City - Dickshakers Union (From Debut EP)
'Kudos' is the soundtrack for summer. Eleven tracks of feel-good, soul fulfilling pop that make you want to buy a combi van, a surfboard and an acoustic guitar and road-trip down the coast making love and peace with mother nature herself. Saturated in reverb and hooky guitar licks, 'Kudos' has that vintage feel so absent on studio embellished recordings. It sounds like four guys jamming their hearts out in an echoing beach house with a 4-track and a couple of mics.
You can buy 'Kudos' here or head over to Arch Hill Recordings to order a hard copy of the album.
Surf City - See How The Sun - DOWNLOAD
