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Mar 11, 2020 Surfer Blood By Christopher Roberts

Surfer Blood are releasing a new album, Carefree Theatre, on May 1 via Kanine. Now they have shared another song from it, “Karen,” via a video for the track. Watch it below.

Surfer Blood frontman John Paul Pitts had this to say about the “Karen” video in a press release: “The video for ‘Karen’ was shot in four different natural settings around South Florida. Most people know us for our beaches, our unpredictable elections, and of course, the Florida Man Twitter account. What’s often overlooked is a colorful and unique ecosystem unlike anything I’ve seen on this continent.

“Ryan Kelly, the director, was dead set on capturing the kaleidoscope of cumulus clouds and singular foliage that is the South Florida landscape. Shooting an outdoor video in the middle of hurricane season seemed like an ambitious idea at first. It’s usually 90 degrees (32 C) with a fifty percent chance of rain, but Ryan had a vision so we went with it.

“Then there was the issue of constructing a working outdoor shower to use in the absence of running water. Behind every shot there are half a dozen buckets of water and a clown car of people operating a makeshift battery pump. I ruined a perfectly good pair of shoes that day, but it turned out to be a totally worthy sacrifice.

“After three long days of shooting and a little editing magic, what emerged is one of the most fun and energetic Surfer Blood videos to date. Between the beauty of the landscape and Ryan’s eye for natural light and cinematography, the video is every bit as vibrant and otherworldly as I had hoped. The fast pace and deliberate edits match the energy of the song perfectly, and last but not least, it was so much fun to make! Definitely worth the cost of a new pair of sneakers.”

Previously the band shared Carefree Theatre’s first single, “Parkland (Into the Silence),” via a lyric video for the new song. 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.

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

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