Coming out of London at the tail end of 2023 was Into Surf and their debut EP, and not just that this was their first outing ever as a recorded artist. The London band is a duo comprised of Matt Smith (guitar/vocals) and Rob Parker (guitar/vocals) with Matt taking the lead with recording and production.
The EP is a fantastic blend of their influences, with the intro song, "Awake", reminding me, especially of those early Bombay Bicycle Club songs with a strong guitar and expansive drums filling up every possible space in your ears.
The two songs in the middle act as the chunky meat with "Fade" kicking things off with a direct and angular guitar tone with some strong vocal hooks. "Slow" may seem like the more relaxed tune on the EP, but once it gets going it's by far their strongest on the release with the latter half of the track giving me big Foals and Bloc Party vibes.
If there ever was a track that could define a band it would be "Feel", I don't know if they meant this to sound like a summary of the three tracks before it, but it sounds literally like a perfect ending for the band's debut release.
There's no doubt in my mind we could be seeing something special here, and if you're a fan of Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees, Foals etc... then you'll love this EP.