Friendship Music

Surfbort's debut record casts them at the scuzzier end of the punk resurgence. Whereas Lithics tend toward the studious end of the spectrum and Protomartyr indulge dour sensibilities, Surfbort pursue the pure, trashy heart of the genre. None of Friendship Music's 17 tracks breach the two-and-a-half-minute mark and they are laced with a surfeit of attitude, thus vociferously adhering to punk's prime tenets. As a track listing that includes song titles like "Pretty Little Fucker" and "Les Be in Love" suggests, they aim to agitate and entertain in equal measure. Largely, their spirited efforts are successful, from the precariously melodic chorus of "Sunshine" through the barely contained ire of "Trashworld," the lo-fi production values merely add grit to their message. Weighty subjects like sexuality, environment, race, and a distaste for government are ripped through with both vehemence and a cool casualness. "The planet knows what you have done throwing your filth in the ocean" lead singer Dani Miller spits on "Trashworld," and she also has little truck for modern forms of narcissism on the self-explanatory "Selfie." Similarly, "White People" casts a withering glance over the absurd elitism at the heart of white culture. If anything, the album's shortcomings are rooted in the all-too-slight way they approach many of the issues on the record. Surfbort fail to provide a particularly coherent, fleshed-out discourse on the sociopolitical issues they touch on, but their aversion to the general state of things is glaringly apparent. What these unfiltered punk provocateurs achieve are fractured politically charged nuggets, which add up to a messy state-of-the-nation address. That said, despite the crude approach and harsh edges, Surfbort do offer a disheveled kind of camaraderie for divisive times. ~ Bekki Bemrose