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The tide is turning. Just when we thought we were all set for a 2010 of lo-fi and noise, it seems there’s a decidedly sunnier side to what’s shaping up for next year with the rise of surf-core. You heard it here first, grommets.
First up: Psych-dealers MGMT have already confessed to hitting the waves. Andrew VanWyngarden told a stateside rag recently that he was “dreaming about surfing during the making of Oracular Spectacular and has since tested out his skills at some of the world’s prime surfer locations, including Waikiki in Hawaii and Australia’s Maroubra Beach, during the recording for follow-up, Congratulations.
Vampire Weekend’s new direction also seems to harness a west-coast flavour, with new influences ranging from the close harmonies of Brian Wilson to the Californian reggae of Operation Ivy. Their forthcoming single, ‘Cousins’ rolls with a holiday vibe.
There’s fresh blood digging out the boards, too, in the jittering guitar riffs and slippery vocal of “he Drums’, Let’s Go Surfing.. They might be from Brooklyn, but there’s more than a little Miami magic in what this Moshi Moshi signed fourpiece are about.
And if that wasn’t enough to get you squeezing into a wetsuit and heading for the ocean, Palm Beach newcomers Surfer Blood are set to blow all indie-coyness out the water with the huge ‘Swim’, a brilliantly bolshy number of massive power pop harmonies and punched-up chords that hark back to Rivers Cuomo’s heyday. It comes to you from their debut album Astro Coast due January 2010.
Back here in the UK we’re not best known for surf culture, those brave souls who’re willing to forego the drizzle to hunt for waves at Newquay excepted. That said, land-locked surfer pop is still alive and well in the shape of Leeds’ native Louis Jones, whose pet sound goes by the name of Spectrals. Look out for an album in the not too distant, and in the meantime here’s a little something to keep you California dreaming. Awesome.
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