Sometimes, when I’m in the mood for some good old-fashioned surf rock, I type “surf” into my iTunes and a whole bunch of great old surf tracks I have on my hard drive pop up. And Surfer Blood. Thing is, though, Surfer Blood is not a traditional surf rock band or anything close to it. Surfer Blood themselves might even disagree with me, but I’ve long thought their name is a misnomer that causes them to have an identity crisis. However, with a little tender loving listening, it’s not hard to appreciate this band for the candy-sweet pop outfit that they are.

Pythons, which is somehow only Surfer Blood’s second full-length album, was released early this summer. It’s chock-full of pure pop songs that will make you reminisce for a summer that isn’t even officially over yet. These are songs you listen to while driving around your neighborhood at the height of summer– when it’s so hot that you have the air conditioning on full blast and you have to turn the music up extra loud. Pythons is noticeably less raw than Astro Coast, Surfer Blood’s 2010 debut, but what it gains in fidelity it definitely doesn’t lose in songwriting. These songs are damn catchy. I like the first three (“Demon Dance”, “Gravity”, and “Weird Shapes”) along with “Say Yes To Me”. But I’ll let you pick your favorites. And let me tell you– if you like uptempo, foot-tappable, sing-alongable pop songs, you’re gonna like this album.

The whole album is streaming on YouTube (see below) and if you dig it, why not pick up a physical copy at your favorite record emporium?