Kudos

KudosSurf City's self titled debut EP arrived in 2008, but you could be forgiven for thinking that the band had actually time warped in from the early 1990s. Over six songs the Auckland, New Zealand, quartet displayed an unabashed yen for vintage noise pop cherry picking guitar moves and clipped vocal cadences from the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Clean, and Pavement. On full length, Kudos, Surf City remains preoccupied with the college rock sounds of

Surf City's self-titled debut EP arrived in 2008, but you could be forgiven for thinking that the band had actually time-warped in from the early 1990s. Over six songs the Auckland, New Zealand, quartet displayed an unabashed yen for vintage noise-pop-- cherry-picking guitar moves and clipped vocal cadences from the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Clean, and Pavement. 

On full-length, Kudos, Surf City remains preoccupied with the college rock sounds of yesteryear. But this time around they've drifted in a slightly stonier direction-- away from the minimalist-pop moves of the Clean and toward the circular space-rock of Spacemen 3, Stereolab, and Bailter Space. Album opener "Crazy Rulers of the World" buzzes along on an endlessly repeating two-note bass riff. "Icy Lakes" goes one better, riding a single pulsing chord through eight minutes of swooshing guitars and reverb-drenched yelps. It's a record heavy on hypnotic grooves-- phased drones swooping through the stereo field while the rhythm section churns.