Wednesday 03/02/10 Surfer Blood @ Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, London

“Sorry, we forgot to play a song. We actually just made a video for this one too.” says Surfer Blood lead singer JP Pitts seconds before he launches into 'Swim (To Reach The End)'. The fact a band can forget to play their best known song shows what a wealth of other great songs they have, a statement certainly true going by this performance.

Looking precociously young Surfer Blood take to the stage in front of an audience literally queuing out of the door to catch a glimpse of them. Watched on by a star studded crowd including fellow Sunshine state band The Drums (making this gig officially hype squared) the band immediately launch into a double header of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Take It Easy'. Their sound is similar in places to their début album 'Astro Coast' but eschews some of the gentler intricacies of the recording for bellowing and lots of noise. Tonight this causes Pitts vocals to become a little wayward, regularly flitting in and out of tune. Generally this doesn't affect the performance too much although over the course of a longer show it could soon grate. They have a great energy on stage however, with five members all putting their heart into things there is a gang mentality to Surfer Blood but it is big haired Marcos Marchesani who enthralls the most. When not switching between drums and keyboard he is dancing and hyping the crowd up to great effect. Not technically listed as an official band member Surfer Blood would be well advised to make his loan a permanent transfer.

As they play 'Harmonix' and 'Floating Vibes' Surfer Bloods highs more than make up for their excusable flaws. Taking influence from Pavement, Pixies and the deft angles of Q And U Surfer Blood's songs sit on the fence between being bombastic and intellectual. Leaning more towards the former the band run the risk of becoming too round at the edges but when they highlight their unique attributes they soar. Catching that balance is surely all that stands between this band and their success.