Surfer Blood

• Astro Coast [Kanine, 2010] A-
• Tarot Classics [Kanine EP, 2011] **

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Astro Coast [Kanine, 2010]
There are always lacerations in store when you try to catch new wave after new wave, and even in Florida John Paul Pitts knows he can't avoid them. But there's something relaxing about the warm air, ocean access, and bikinis of West Palm Beach. That's why the statement of purpose isn't the sound-setting "Floating Vibes" or the breaker-breaching "Swim" but a "Take It Easy" so much more kind and less arrogant than the Eagles song he may never have heard. Is the "mama" who melts the ice in him and keeps him up shivering a crush or, as indicated, a song? My guess is a song; a song so simple it only has two sections, both catchy. The crushes will come later, and they'll lacerate too. "My love is a carnivore," Pitts croons like he's loving some Beach Boys high part. But he delivers a reprise of the same B part in a more forceful, normal voice: "Why is everything a chore?/I'm too young to be defeated." So far, he isn't. Wish him luck with that riptide. A-

Tarot Classics [Kanine EP, 2011]
EP embraces a maturity they define in part as saving your winners for Warners ("Drinking Problem," "I'm Not Ready") **