Surfer Blood

The Shins’ warm, amiable sound may be running out of gas, but it’s looking like Surfer Blood might manage to grab the reins of James Mercer’s jangly pop caravan. The Palm Beach lads made waves with single “Swim (To Reach The End),” a reverb-drenched track that defines Surfer Blood’s calling card: walls of fuzz meshed with sing-along hooks. Expect the Shins comparisons to persist throughout the band’s early career—vocally, lead singer John Paul Pitts could be Mercer’s brother—but there’s ample time for this newborn act to refine its sound. The band’s much-anticipated debut record, Astro Coast, hit stores in early 2010 to overwhelmingly positive reviews, and its brand-new EP, Tarot Classics, manages to freshen early ’90s lo-fi for new ears without sounding like a cheap throwback.

Updated 10/26/2011