Having already amassed a wave of hype over their brief lifespan, many have hailed Surfer Blood as The Next Big Thing, while just as many have been left scratching their heads over the press' love of the CMJ darlings. Of course, the truth lies somewhere in-between — Astro Coast isn't the life changing event some would have you believe; rather, it's a solid collection of tunes put together by a band who may or may not be old enough to remember indie rock's early 90's heyday, but certainly paid attention in class and took all the right notes.

Fingerprints from all over the era abound throughout the record – a touch of Pavement's reckless guitar-hero-in-disguise noodling here, a Weezer-sized hook big enough to hit the cheap seats there, all wrapped up in a generously hazy coating of “Slack Motherfucker” fuzz and scrappy reverb'ed man-boy shouts that sound like a 16 year old lowering his voice a notch to get into a bar; it's the same stylistic blueprint that launched a thousand bands 20 years prior. Yet Surfer Blood manages to throw a few stylistic curveballs into their romanticized vision the era; jagged Pixies surf rock collides with Vampire Weekend-esque afro-beat breakdowns one moment, lazy drones unfurl along a highway of new wave rhythms the next.

Despite essentially being a collage of past and present musical trends, the songs themselves never feel calculated or forced. In an era where a carefully crafted image is de rigueur for many indie bands, Surfer Blood seems refreshingly free from such trappings, which contributes immensely to the overall enjoyment of the album. With the one-two punch of opener “Floating Vibes” combined with the Rick Springfield-certified, arena-ready riffs of “Swim,” Surfer Blood goes straight for the jugular out of the gate. By the time any arguing regarding Astro Coast's originality can get underway, you've been too busy enjoying yourself to notice the album doesn't let up in it's simple pleasures until the overly lengthy crawl of “Slow Jabroni” rears it's head towards the tail end of the album.

The Next Big Thing? Maybe not, but as something the kids with X's on their hands and those of us pining for “the good old days” can both get behind, Surfer Blood is as refreshing as that first wave on a hot summer's day.