All Day Breakfast has been served. Indie rock's equivalent of the greasy spoon special, Regina-based duo Surf Dads pack more than enough sun-baked melodies and starchy guitars into their first full-length to stuff into your face holes.
Over the past two years, Surf Dads have pumped out four EPs, most recently last July's blistering Summer Vacation, which prepped the garage-rockers for their slicker debut album, All Day Breakfast, a heavy and hectic collection of playful, and at-times self-deprecating, pop-rock jams. On album opener "Up All Night," singer-guitarist Gage McGuire cautiously tip-toes around a straightforward pop-punk riff before ripping into the head-rushing line "I've been up all night / Things just don't seem right," caged in by Chris Dimas' ruthless but meticulous drumming.
McGuire's words are simple and forthright, but his fiery delivery is what makes it a joy to yell along to. Likewise on the turbulent "Scary Liza," on which the brief pause and the subsequent rapid collapse before the ecstatic and soaring chorus (which is the song title, shouted) make for what is possibly one of rock's finest fist-pumping moments in recent memory.
The album sags in the middle, as the endless chugging distortion becomes a bit tiresome and the radiant hookiness from the beginning and the end of the record somewhat dissolves into repetition. Still, every minute on Surf Dads' debut is immediate and relentless, featuring loud, buzzing guitars and frenetic punk-rock percussion, albeit with little room to breathe. While All Day Breakfast's style of urgent, high-energy rock certainly leaves you full and unmistakably satisfied, it is likely better consumed in smaller serving sizes.
(Independent)Over the past two years, Surf Dads have pumped out four EPs, most recently last July's blistering Summer Vacation, which prepped the garage-rockers for their slicker debut album, All Day Breakfast, a heavy and hectic collection of playful, and at-times self-deprecating, pop-rock jams. On album opener "Up All Night," singer-guitarist Gage McGuire cautiously tip-toes around a straightforward pop-punk riff before ripping into the head-rushing line "I've been up all night / Things just don't seem right," caged in by Chris Dimas' ruthless but meticulous drumming.
McGuire's words are simple and forthright, but his fiery delivery is what makes it a joy to yell along to. Likewise on the turbulent "Scary Liza," on which the brief pause and the subsequent rapid collapse before the ecstatic and soaring chorus (which is the song title, shouted) make for what is possibly one of rock's finest fist-pumping moments in recent memory.
The album sags in the middle, as the endless chugging distortion becomes a bit tiresome and the radiant hookiness from the beginning and the end of the record somewhat dissolves into repetition. Still, every minute on Surf Dads' debut is immediate and relentless, featuring loud, buzzing guitars and frenetic punk-rock percussion, albeit with little room to breathe. While All Day Breakfast's style of urgent, high-energy rock certainly leaves you full and unmistakably satisfied, it is likely better consumed in smaller serving sizes.