By Samir MathurContributing writer
If you spend a lot of time reading music blogs, it can be easy to lose a sense of perspective about the heavily buzzed bands. At the time of writing this, the most-blogged artist at The Hype Machine is The Tallest Man on Earth. Never heard of him (or them)? Me either. There’s a massive gulf between “internet big” and “real world big”. For instance, in 2010 the bands The Drums and Surfer Blood have been to music blogs what Lindsay Lohan has been to TMZ. Their co-headline tour rolls into town on Friday, and while neither band is likely to make your mind explode, they’re both solid, exciting young bands with a handful of tunes that’ll be fun to enjoy with a few cans of cheap PBR. And it’s always cool to see a purported “Next Big Thing” at a nice intimate venue, so if either band makes it “real world big,” you can brag that you once saw the whites of their eyes.
Surfer Blood are from South Florida, and their debut album Astro Coast came out earlier this year to good reviews. They remind me of early Weezer, with strong harmonies and good choruses. One of their songs is about David Lynch, and they all look like dorky high school sophomores. The Drums are from NYC and clearly love British music from the early 1980s – there’s a very apparent Smiths influence in their guitar sounds, plus vocalist Jonathan Pierce has got his Ian Curtis mannerisms perfected. Of course, neither of those two Manchester bands would ever write a song as much fun as The Drums’ ‘Let’s Go Surfing’, though.
It’s going to be a young crowd – expect a lot of energy, a lot of un-self-conscious dancing, and a few tunes that will stick in your head all weekend.
The Drums and Surfer Blood, with The Young Friends, play The Social this Friday, September 17th.
Tickets are $15 and available online, but we recommend you save some money and buy them in person from Park Ave CDs.