Holiday Shores’ sophomore album, New Masses for Squaw Peak, does this flawlessly, exhibiting some of the most innovative and experimental indie pop since The Flaming Lips’ 2002 release, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and The Shins’ 2003 disc, Chutes Too Narrow. But now, it’s a new decade, and with it comes this new breed of indie album, complete with the revitalized soundscape and conceptual undertones that make this genre such an intriguing and enjoyable breed of musical creation.

New Masses for Squaw Peak exhibits a diverse range of sounds and tones, a nod to its complexity. “Airglow” is an electronic, post-jazz hybrid, with “Cord-du-Roi” rearing little more than some light bass and electric guitar strumming, along with the vocalist’s characteristic croon.

Two tracks, “New Masses” and “Squaw Peak”, compose the album’s title and, listened to together, artfully and powerfully blend the beauty of acoustic-electric picking, loneliness, a call for the love of nature, of the way the sun rises behind a crown of hulking mountains, and of the soundless, but daunting, succession of the moon and the sun. Likewise, “Ocotillo Dripping” and “Coming to Shores” are all about ambiance and reverberation, each an ode to the way that little more than instrumental sounds and successions can be so pleasing to both the ear and the imagination.

Essentially, this is what each track of New Masses for Squaw Peak does: They take you on a journey, inspire your imagination. I look forward to seeing Holiday Shores experiment further, as they will likely distinguish themselves as one of the more creative and talented indie pop bands of recent memory.

Essential Tracks: “Airglow”, “Spells”, and “Cord-Du-Roi”

After that, the real fun starts. Beginning February 16th, Surfer Blood will launch a month long endeavor that will keep the outfit on the road through South by Southwest 2010. Holiday Shores and Turbo Fruits will be tagging along for the ride.

To add to your anticipation, another track from Astro Coast, titled “Floating Vibes”, has made its way onto the web. Check it out at Hype Machine.

Surfer Blood 2010 Tour Dates:
01/13 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
01/14 – Chicago, IL @ Tomorrow Never Knows
01/25 – Saint Augustine, FL @ Cafe Elever #
01/26 – Orlando, FL @ Backbooth #
01/27 – W. Palm Beach, FL @ Respectable Street Cafe #
02/03 – London, UK @ Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen
02/04 – Kingston, UK @ Hippodrome
02/05 – London, UK @ Koko
02/09 – London, UK @ Scala %
02/16 – Orlando, FL @ Backbooth ^*
02/17 – DeLand, FL @ DaVinci ^*
02/18 – Tallahassee, FL @ Engine Room ^*
02/19 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Shores ^
02/20 – Nashville, TN @ The End ^*
02/22 – Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor ^*
02/23 – Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St. ^*
02/24 – Washington, DC @ DC9 ^*
02/26 – Dartmouth, NH @ Small Black
03/01 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary *
03/02 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott *
03/03 – Providence, RI @ AS220 *
03/05 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore *
03/06 – Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees *
03/07 – Geneseo, NY @ SUNY Geneseo *
03/09 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *
03/11 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
03/12 – Columbia, MO @ Mojos *
03/13 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge *
03/14 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
03/17-21 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest

# = w/ Monotonix
% = w/ British Sea Power
^ = w/ Holiday Shores
* = w/ Turbo Fruits

Florida’s Holiday Shores have one of those solid and fulfilling debut records. It’s bass heavy with echoing, twangy, guitars that sound like the entire band is submerged. Splashes and lazy summer vocals revel in all the abstract yet deeply personal things bands love to sing about making Columbus’d The Whim just too addictive to miss. That being said, it was a little hard to peg how they would translate live, still being new, and especially in a place that was BYOA (bring your own amp) with very little to offer for an in house sound system.

With mixed expectations milling around, “Days Drag” kicked the set off and threw all doubt down the bars drain. With a room built for thirty, the tiny stage was set up with a makeshift table for the keys and xylophone, and the five guys, looking tee-shirt sharp, all crammed together. What came out though was a sound bigger than the bar was made for. Off the record, the songs became tight little nuggets of reverb drenched surf rock heaven, which is always impressive for a band still so fresh.

“Bradley Bear” saw soaring “oh’s” with murky guitars coating the harmonies. The playful vocals stirred up some dancing, leading into the big energy of “Reruns” as “gotta get out!” was slurred into the mic. As the single off their record, “Phones Don’t Feud”, with it’s catchy little intro, was stuck in the middle of their short thirty minute set. Guitars were strummed and plucked with bohemian ease, and the bass lines sounded fresh and thick.

Some covers made their way out during the night. The first band to go on set the bar with some Dinosaur Jr. Holiday Shores would step it up doing The Byrd’s version of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin Nowhere”. It was a great little break that showed just how glued together this band is, even when they turn off the keys and effects and just play. “Errand of Tongue” closed the set with what was easily their best song of the night. It was a bigger jam, not just a rock song, that turned up the rhythm and the sweat melodies. You could tell that they were really laying into this one since their previous efforts to play a few more songs was squashed thanks to the clock. In spite of those efforts, they made the final song count, and left everyone feeling giddy and anxious.

Monday night saw a crowd of friends, friends of friends, and band mates supporting each other. After each set, they would walk up and talk to their compadres, shake hands, give hugs, and make fun of each other. That’s usually how a weeknight indie rock show goes, playful, light hearted, and fun in the most intimate way. That’s exactly how Holiday Shores brought it, and it resulted in an unexpected and memorable show. There’s no doubt that these guys are headliner material, they just happened to be stuck in the middle this time.

Set List:
Days Drag
Bradley Bear
Reruns
Phones Don’t Feud
Experiencer
You Aint Goin’ No Where (Bob Dylan cover)
Errand of Tongue

Honestly, Tallahassee natives Holiday Shores could have been from Fargo and I would have reacted the same way, but having the Florida sun as inspiration seemed to work perfectly for the situation at hand. Guitars with a distant soaking twang and simple reverberations turning up the literary vocals make up the very summer appropriate sounds of the Florida panhandle’s native sons. Named for lead singer Nathan Pemberton’s home neighborhood, the five piece has been together before as Continental Divide and is set to release a debut H.S. record Columbus’d The Whim on Twosyllable Records later in August.

The guys pull together a unique blend of retroactive surf rock that spans from the harmonious “Reruns” to the psychedelic keys and bass driven “Dens”. A highlight from the new record comes from the five minute “Errand of Tongue” with its infectious melodies and danceable spirit that cools you off with its lazy attitude. There is really nothing to do with this band other than sit back and relax. Even if you are in Fargo, you can use this record to pretend you’re on the coast.

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