Surfer Blood Played CMJ, Playing Brooklyn Bowl w/ Art Brut

Surfer Blood at Cake Shop (10/22/09)
Surfer Blood
Photo: Jon Klemm

Florida’s Surfer Blood played a lot of shows at CMJ this year (around 12 or so) and I think they benefited from the exposure— people were talking about them, and for the most part, saying pretty good things. I caught them at the Kanine Records showcase the Cake Shop (Oct 22) and I was pleasantly surprised by their set. Typically I’m not bowled over by garage rock, but these guys do it with a little more melody and their percussionist adds a layer of sophistication that you don’t usually find in bands of their oeuvre. Everybody likes to makes comparisons, and if I had to throw in my own 2 cents, I’d call them a cross between Vampire Weekend and The Velvet Underground, (at least one song had me humming the chorus to “Sweet Jane”). Their debut album Astro Coast comes out on January 19, 2010 on Kanine Records.

If you missed Surfer Blood at CMJ, you’ll have a chance to catch them again this Friday (Nov 13) at the Brooklyn Bowl with the always entertaining Art Brut. More Surfer Blood tour dates and CMJ pics after the jump.

Surfer Blood 2009 Tour Dates
Nov 10 2009 Lincoln Hall w/ Art Brut Chicago, Illinois
Nov 11 2009 Oberlin College w/ Art Brut Ohio, Ohio
Nov 12 2009 North Star Bar w/ Art Brut Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 13 2009 Brooklyn Bowl w/ Art Brut Brooklyn, New York
Nov 14 2009 Ottobar w/ Art Brut Baltimore, Maryland
Nov 15 2009 Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nov 17 2009 Now That’s Class Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 18 2009 Cafe Bourbon Street Columbus, Ohio
Nov 19 2009 The Bishop Bloomington, Indiana
Nov 20 2009 Billiken Club w/ Japandroids St Louis, Missouri
Nov 21 2009 Slowdown w/ Japandroids Omaha, Nebraska
Nov 25 2009 Casbah w/ Japandroids San Diego, California
Nov 27 2009 Echo W/ Japandroids Los Angeles, California
Nov 29 2009 Rickshaw Stop w/ Japandroids San Francisco, California
Nov 30 2009 Holocene w/ Japandroids Portland, Oregon
Dec 01 2009 Chop Suey w/ Japandroids Seattle, Washington
Dec 07 2009 Trunk Space Phoenix, Arizona
Dec 09 2009 Bash Riprock’s Lubbock, Texas
Dec 10 2009 Granada Theatre with Jay Reatard Dallas, Texas
Dec 12 2009 Alabama Music Box Mobile, Alaska
Dec 13 2009 BackBooth Orlando, Florida

Surfer Blood at Cake Shop
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