Three reasons to stop eating funyuns and get on over to Schubas this evening…
1. When Surfer Blood burst on to the scene with the sunny reverb rocker “Swim,” they were hailed as the next Weezer. A tag that, depending on your mindset, is either good or really, really bad. But the West Palm Beach (yeah, I had no idea bands come from there either) really aren’t even in the same category as Rivers and the Machine. Surfer Blood actually emit much more brit pop and Cars-like tightness than the teenage angst that powered Weezer’s acne-anthems. On their latest EP, Tarot Classics, the band spices up things with a hint of ’80s new wave on “Miranda” and the melodic licks of “I’m Not Ready” have a Vampire Weekend-like afro-pop tingle. Koenig-isms aside, Tarot Classics finds Surfer Blood delivering some of their freshest and most confident material yet. LISTEN: “Miranda”
Saturday night was a night of epic guitar rock from two bands whose heydays are separated by nearly a decade. Promising, young upstarts Surfer Blood and grizzled, journeymen …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead took over the Bottom Lounge with a blitzkrieg of heavy riffs, crazy fills, and extended solos.
Happy Seis de Mayo, muchachos! We’ve got another beautiful weekend ahead of us, and I’m not even talking about the weather. Although, that is pretty nice, too.
Lollapalooza 2010 and Pitchfork Music Festival 2010 came and went, but if the massive festivals were just too much for your feeble little body and out of your price range, don’t stress. Many Lollapalooza and Pitchfork acts have already booked return trips to the windy city.
This was a poorly timed release. Astro Coast, the debut album from Florida indie rock group Surfer Blood, was not suited for my headphones as I trudged through the Chicago snow last February. It’s best suited for now – when we’re nearing the dog days of summer and weekend trips to the beach are typical. Sure, I waited a few months until it warmed up to give it a proper spin, but I’m glad I did as the album is one of the flat out best guitar rock records released this year.
We really try to keep things hyperlocal to Chicago here on LoudLoopPress.com, but occasionally there are cool happenings two and a half hours south of our fair city.
Lollapalooza 2010 and Pitchfork Music Festival 2010 came and went, but if the massive festivals were just too much for your feeble little body and out of your price range, don’t stress. Many Lollapalooza and Pitchfork acts have already booked return trips to the windy city.
We really try to keep things hyperlocal to Chicago here on 
