As the name suggests, there’s more than a bit of surfer influence here. The Beach Boys and early Weezer could easily be cited as potential inspiration for this quartet’s penchant for 50/60s American rock n roll and dream pop with a modern pop punk twist of hooky riffs and catchy choruses.
For the most part, it’s a quintessential summer love album. John Paul Pitts’ vocals are delightfully smooth and sweet, a perfect match for the sugar-coated shimmering pop their music exudes, particularly when accompanied by his harmonising bandmates.
‘Demon Dance’ immediately introduces this contrast of styles, with the first of many bittersweet moments in the album. But while it explores the past a little more, following track ‘Gravity’ brings things a little bit more up to speed with more distorted guitars and riffs replacing the gushy, echo-y 50s guitar sound. ‘Weird Shapes’ continues this pop rock theme but, as with the first track, they mix things up by showing their more angst ridden side with some shouty vocals – not completely convincing when Pitts’ vocals are so sweet throughout the album. Things are a lot more stripped back as Surfer Blood take a more reflective approach with ‘I Was Wrong’, but ‘Sneezing Blood’ soon brings the colour back with a bright beat whilst still maintaining that slightly bittersweet edge in the chord progression followed by an uber fuzzed-up guitar solo.
‘Say Yes To Me’ has another great rock n roll beat that’ll make you want to do the hand jive in a malt shop whilst lovey dovey waltz number ‘Needles And Pins’ wouldn’t sound out of place at a 50s American high school prom where young loves have their first kiss. ‘Slow Six’ continues in the same vein but fails to ignite that same nostalgic spark. It’s a little dull in comparison with its wailing guitars, but it brings back to life that Weezer influence, with some Pixies and OK/GO similarities in there too. Fittingly enough, Pythons’ closing track is entitled ‘Prom Song’ but as Pitts sings “I just can’t be bothered, I don’t want to know,” it doesn’t quite have that same ‘young lovers’ first dance’ charm that ‘Needles and Pins’ possesses – though perhaps it’s just a modern day interpretation.
If when listening to the record, you feel you’re maybe overdoing it, don’t be alarmed. Although it’s a great sound the band are exploring and the switch between straight up 50s influenced dream pop and more modern riffy pop punk keeps things interesting, the album isn’t overly versatile. ‘Pythons’ is one of those records where a few tracks are great but with a similar style throughout, while some of the tracks may begin to bleed into each other, making for a rather tedious result even when you believe you’re enjoying it. It’s almost like taking too much ice cream – sooner or later you have to stop because you’ve either given yourself toothache or an awful brain freeze.
