SURF FRIENDS — PHOTO BY SASKIA COLEY
Weaving together a collage of footage from their album release show at The Thirsty Dog, cinematographer and editor Mark Howden (who also produced the album) treats the shots with transient effects, elevating its kaleidoscopic energy and spinning its visceral energy into a new dimension. Hit play on the music video below.
For a duo, Surf Friends sure know how to make an impressive amount of noise. The Auckland/Tāmaki-Makaurau-based two-piece, made up of Brad Coley (guitar, vocals, keys, harmonica, drum machine) and Peter Westmoreland (bass, keys, vocals), formed in 2009. Drawing inspirations from the jangle-pop of early Flying Nun bands such as The Clean, Surf Friends defined their distinct psych-surf and post-punk sound, using driving guitars, drum machines and synths loops to create a visceral, solar-powered wash of sound. Their 2010 debut album, Confusion, gained worldwide attention, Pitchfork praising their “off-the-cuff brilliance”. Over their almost fourteen-year career, they have performed and collaborated with the likes of Hamish and David Kilgour (The Clean), Nick Roughan (The Skeptics), The Black Watch and Snapper and have performed at festivals such as The Others Way, Psych Fest and Field Of Dreams, as well as opening for U.S band Crumb in 2023. They released their album Sonic Waves on March 17 via Flying Nun Records. You can buy it HERE.