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Jul 07, 2020 Surfer Blood By Samantha Small

Surfer Blood are back with yet another single from their forthcoming record Carefree Theatre, due out September 25 via Kanine. The new tune is titled “Summer Trope” and is accompanied by a music video. The band has also announced a livestream concert (details are below). Watch the “Summer Trope” video below.

The video follows frontman John Paul Pitts sporting a handsome fake beard as he traverses a beautiful shoreline landscape (think Cast Away). With sunny riffs, and cool tones “Summer Trope” is exactly what you expect it to be: a savory surf single. After seemingly getting lost at sea, Pitts is rescued by his band members—also fashioned with funky hair accessories of their own—and they soon arrive at a marina show (remember live music?) and finish out the song.

Pitts had this to say about the song in a press release: “The lyrics are narrative, something that doesn’t come naturally to me. It tells the story of a prisoner who breaks out of Alcatraz, only to be swallowed by a great white shark in the San Francisco Bay. Not the happiest of endings, but you have to admit, its very Surfer Blood.

“I came up with the idea in a cab driving across the Bay Bridge. The driver mentioned something about how the city was trying to play down the presence of sharks in the bay. It’s hard not to be inspired by that view. Either way, I’m glad I tried stepping outside of my artistic comfort zone. ‘Summer Trope’ sits nicely with the rest of the track listing, even though it takes a different path.”

Carefree Theatre was originally supposed to drop on May 1 via Kanine. But, because of COVID-19, the album has since been postponed to September 25. Previously, the band shared the album’s “Karen,” via a video for the track, as well as “Parkland (Into the Silence),” As its title suggests, “Parkland (Into the Silence)” was about the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, in the band’s native Florida, two years ago this Friday. “Parkland (Into the Silence)” was one of our Songs of the Week. Additionally, the group is reissuing their acclaimed album Astro Coast on August 29th in light of its 10th anniversary.

Now for another surprise: touring might be indefinitely canceled, but that isn’t stopping musicians from getting the band back together (while socially distanced, of course). Surfer Blood is no exception. On July 11, the indie-rock outfit will host a full-band (and full-electronic) web concert from Ft. Pierce, Florida at the idyllic Ballet Florida’s Indian River Gardens.

The show will be cast from Noonchorus, a lovely web series that has hosted a number of acts including Waxahatchee, Angel Olsen, Whitney, Japanese Breakfast, and more.

Carefree Theatre is the follow-up to 2017’s Snowdonia and 2019’s covers record Covers. The band features John Paul Pitts, Tyler Schwarz, Mike McCleary, and Lindsey Mills. Former guitarist Thomas Fekete passed away in 2016 after battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

Read our COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In With Lindsey Mills of Surfer Blood.

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