Following up last year’s Astro Coast, Surfer Blood released their new EP, Tarot Classics, on Tuesday. As with their debut album, this compilation reaches a satisfactory balance between energetic rock arrangements and wistful nostalgia, allowing the group to enjoy comfortably (for now) the small niche they’ve made for themselves amidst a sea of alt pop mediocrity. Accordingly, while the EP is nothing spectacular, neither is it devoid of its merits.

On the first track, “I’m Not Ready,” it is apparent is that vocalist John Paul Pitts has found his voice, somewhere amidst breathy interjections that punctuate his Rivers Cuomo-esque delivery. This level of ease extends to the rest of the group as well, who kick off the EP much the way they did on last year’s record—with a self-assured and riff-driven pep that’s not afraid to sound as if Dinosaur Jr. and Los Straitjackets teamed up to pitch an all-night beach party. And maybe a Volkswagen.

For the remainder of the tracks, Surfer Blood consistently generates boppable indie rock while summoning all the summer-fun energy of the late-90s pop punk bubble. “Miranda,” a surefire candidate for singledom, is as catchy as any Kaiser Chiefs track (and made in the USA!), proving they can also hang with this century’s alt-pop hotlist, and indeed Pitts’ delivery conveys a similar Brit pop sentimentality. It’s a step away from the more unique sound of the opener, but it’s understandable and it sort of works. The bottom half of the EP, with “Voyager Reprise” and “Drinking Problem” introduces some more adventurous sounds via Ventures-inspired interludes and slightly electro inclinations. But for the most part, on Tarot Classics Surfer Blood stick to their bread and butter, which for the moment seems to be serving them just fine.

3 / 5 bars

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miranda [school of seven bells remix] // surfer blood by sexmusic