Most of 1000 Palms seems like a love letter (to one,
lucky girl) but one that is written right at the start when all is uncertain
and the pursuer is full of jittery energy. And when the album persona is not
wooing his desire, he’s looking wistfully back at a rich collection of
memories.
Or maybe it’s hard to move away from recognising
clear autobiographic influences in Surfer Blood’s music. “If we could
never let it go/how could I ever say hello?” primary songwriter John
Paul Pitts sings
in the first track. He is vulnerable in his storytelling and while this album
is very lyrically driven, it has a charming, nostalgic touch to its sound with
distorted guitar and male-female harmonies. The album does lose part of its
vibrancy after the first half, moving from pop structured choruses to more
chilled, but still endearing, tracks.
“Island” ironically starts similar to “Island in the
Sun” but with dreamy backing vocals and two electric guitars chasing each other
in the background. Then “I Can’t Explain” changes the mood to something more
desperate, with powerful electric guitar and smashing cymbals under a heartfelt
but strong lyric; “I can’t explain” is repeated over and over and we can feel
it.
I felt a bit of an OC surf rock vibe from 1000
Palms, with the fuzzy vocals and dreamy lyrics. And for an album
that was largely self-recorded (in the living room of drummer Tyler
Schwarz’ house) it is still crisp. Fans of Best
Coast and even Cloud
Nothings will
appreciate the subdued pop structures weaving into reflective narratives. Some
of the tracks feel like they will easily become sing-a-longs in their live
shows.1000 Palms is one of those albums that sounds
good in one big listen, the songs meld into each other and they tell a story.
Pitts has been criticised in the past
(namely for his arrest – we didn’t want to bring it up but just google his name
and it’s there.) But maybe Surfer Blood have reached a redemption point after
that and their break from Warner Bros. records: “But nothing’s alright if
you’re not my girl/you bring me peace in this chaotic world.” It’s not
world-shaking but it’s perfect for a lazy listen. 1000 Palms might just be the cathartic look into
past pain that we need right now.
Published on AdamNOTEve.
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