Biography
West Palm Beach outfit Surfer Blood blends breezy surf-rock textures with indie-rock edge. Sprightly guitar lines—alternating between bright chimes and raw grit—anchor their tracks, which ride buoyant melodies lifted by crisp vocal layers and a witty, thoughtful lyrical stance. The group launched with considerable impact via 2010’s Astro Coast, then issued their first major-label effort, Pythons, in 2013. After stepping back to independent status they reasserted their presence with 2020’s Carefree Theatre.
Guitarist and singer John Paul Pitts and drummer Tyler Schwarz, acquainted since high school, began collaborating and soon added guitarist Thomas Fekete and bassist Kevin Williams; the quartet formally adopted the Surfer Blood name in spring 2009. Recording sessions started at once in Pitts’ apartment, and the musicians completed four tours within their initial five months as a unit. Early road work alongside Art Brut and Japandroids, paired with growing online attention, accelerated their profile while they finished their first album. Issued in early 2010 on Brooklyn’s Kanine imprint, Astro Coast earned favorable notices, broadened the band’s reach, and entered the Billboard Top 200. Though they later inked a deal with Warner Bros., the Tarot Classics EP still appeared on Kanine in 2011.
Ahead of that EP, Surfer Blood was selected to support Pixies on their 2011 tour. Teaming with Gil Norton, the former Pixies producer, they crafted the more refined major-label debut Pythons, released in June 2013. Following the February 2015 premiere of the single “Dorian,” the group disclosed that Fekete had been diagnosed with sarcoma and would exit. Now on Joyful Noise Records, they issued their third full-length, 1000 Palms, that May. After longtime bassist Williams departed in late 2015—replaced by high-school acquaintance Lindsey Mills—the band confirmed in May 2016 that Fekete had died from the disease. Snowdonia, their expansive 2017 album, marked the first release featuring Mills and guitarist Mike McCleary. Hourly Haunts, an EP, surfaced in 2019, and the studio album Carefree Theatre followed in 2020.
Guitarist and singer John Paul Pitts and drummer Tyler Schwarz, acquainted since high school, began collaborating and soon added guitarist Thomas Fekete and bassist Kevin Williams; the quartet formally adopted the Surfer Blood name in spring 2009. Recording sessions started at once in Pitts’ apartment, and the musicians completed four tours within their initial five months as a unit. Early road work alongside Art Brut and Japandroids, paired with growing online attention, accelerated their profile while they finished their first album. Issued in early 2010 on Brooklyn’s Kanine imprint, Astro Coast earned favorable notices, broadened the band’s reach, and entered the Billboard Top 200. Though they later inked a deal with Warner Bros., the Tarot Classics EP still appeared on Kanine in 2011.
Ahead of that EP, Surfer Blood was selected to support Pixies on their 2011 tour. Teaming with Gil Norton, the former Pixies producer, they crafted the more refined major-label debut Pythons, released in June 2013. Following the February 2015 premiere of the single “Dorian,” the group disclosed that Fekete had been diagnosed with sarcoma and would exit. Now on Joyful Noise Records, they issued their third full-length, 1000 Palms, that May. After longtime bassist Williams departed in late 2015—replaced by high-school acquaintance Lindsey Mills—the band confirmed in May 2016 that Fekete had died from the disease. Snowdonia, their expansive 2017 album, marked the first release featuring Mills and guitarist Mike McCleary. Hourly Haunts, an EP, surfaced in 2019, and the studio album Carefree Theatre followed in 2020.
Albums
Hourly Haunts EP
2022
Carefree Theatre
2020
Hardboiled
2020
Astro Coast (10 Year Anniversary)
2020
Covers
2019
Snowdonia
2017
1000 Palms
2015
Pythons
2013
Tarot Classics (Deluxe)
2011
Astro Coast
2010
Singles
