I’ve been trying to write a hit record
Sleepless long nights thinking bout whatever
I’ve been trying to hang in forever

“Dreamin’ Wild” by Surf Curse

Surf Curse released their album Buds on Big Joy Records a couple weeks ago with a show at The Smell, the DIY venue in Los Angeles. I wish I could’ve been there but the drive is a little further from Austin than it would’ve been from Las Vegas. Regardless, I bought the album on bandcamp that night (because I follow the band using bandcamp’s fan profile, I got an email when it became available) and have listened to it several times through. The cassette is now available online so I’ll probably buy that, too. (Obsessed fan what?)

I met Jacob and Nick soon after moving to Las Vegas, NV when fate brought rushmore beekeepers and Nick’s former band The Advertisements together for some super fun and memorable alternative-experimental-indie rock / indie folk music shows. Nick and Jacob are absurdly talented and have exceptionally great taste in music, movies, and pretty much everything; they couldn’t produce bad music if they tried, and the spectacularly raw energy, catchiness, dreamy surf sound, and lyrical content of lo-fi indie rock duo Surf Curse is concrete proof.

Featuring a minimalistic arrangement of guitar, drums, and vocals, their songs reference underappreciated films and television shows like Heathers (“Heathers”), The Outsiders (“Ponyboy”), and Twin Peaks (“Fire Walk With Me”); they even have a song about The Smell (“The Smell Saved My Life”). Both Jacob and Nick sing and their voices seem to compliment each other naturally and effortlessly.

Keeping in mind that this is coming from a dedicated (rabidly obsessed?) fan, I recommend both Demos, a collection of their first recordings (originally singles and EPs), and the more recently recorded Buds. Some of the songs repeat between the two albums; those that don’t are worth the low price and the earlier fantastically lo-fi recordings are still energetic and powerful.

Taking the inspiration for their name from an episode of The Brady Bunch guest-starring Vincent Price and starting with the ultimate goal of playing The Smell (great interview at the dumbing of america), Surf Curse is bringing original and exceptional indie rock music into a world that always needs it.

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Jacob has a lo-fi bedroom pop project called Casino Hearts and Nick creates dancy lo-fi bedroom pop music as Televisions; between the two of them, they have plenty of awesome music you can add into your rotation.

Also, about five years ago Jacob made a fantastic stop motion film using “street i’ve never seen” from throwing mud at your streetlight:

One of the first conversations my wife Carrie and I had was about the mopey-dancy indie pop group The Postal Service.

She walked into The Club (a divey Las Cruces, NM bar and music venue; now closed, sadly) wearing a Death Cab For Cutie shirt as I was preparing for a rushmore beekeepers show, back when rb was briefly an indie rock/folk trio. Being a sometimes awkward conversationalist, I took this golden opportunity to talk about Death Cab and ask what she thought about Ben Gibbard’s side project. She said they were really good so I bought their album, Give Up.

She was right. I was immediately hooked, mostly on the tragically low self-esteem narrative of the opening song “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” and the imaginary arguments and reclusive paranoia of “We Will Become Silhouettes.” (By the way, I have always loved The Shins’ version of “Silhouettes.”) “Be Still My Heart” (from We Will Become Silhouettes) and “Such Great Heights” are both optimistic, upbeat love songs, so it’s not all sad.

Roughly nine years after that conversation, Carrie and I went to see The Postal Service in Cedar Park, TX (not quite Austin) on their reunion tour for the tenth anniversary of Give Up. Comprised of members from Death Cab For Cutie, Dntel, Rilo Kiley, and most recently the Mynabirds, I always thought of The Postal Service as the indie music equivalent to a supergroup. Maybe a mini-supergroup.

I was apprehensive about seeing them live, not only because it had been ten years since their only full-length album was released, but also because their music always struck me as the kind you listen to at home alone despite its dancy electro-pop beats. The show was also at an indoor arena; they weren’t exactly underground when their album came out, but the “indie” scene was much smaller then. Also, I had talked to Jenny Lewis both times I’d seen her play, and I knew this would mess up my average.

Ben sang with conviction and danced awkwardly, as I’ve seen him do in the Death Cab documentary Drive Well, Sleep Carefully. He played drums along with Jimmy Tamborello’s electronic beats on several songs. An awesome effect, and one that added depth and dynamics to an electronic show. Jenny provided additional instrumentation and expanded vocal parts, helping to create a fresh experience with songs I’ve gotten to know so well over the past nine years. They even covered a Beat Happening song, “Our Secret,” and Ben made it a point to let everyone know it was a Beat Happening song and that everyone should listen to that band. They should. And so should you. I love Beat Happening.

Unlike the other bands I thought I’d never see live, The Postal Service never toured much and their music – as I enjoy it – never seemed conducive to a live setting, so I didn’t think about what I’d be missing. They were excellent, though, even if it seemed disorienting and out-of-place to see a live performance from a band that created the project by mailing their work-in-progress back and forth using a well-known parcel transfer system.

The ever-passionate and prolific Punks In Vegas posted a couple of videos and a review of The Postal Service’s Las Vegas show on the Punks In Vegas website.