Surferosa- 'Shanghai My Heart' (Versity) Released 12/04/04

Ever wondered what type of band you’d get should you name yourselves after a Pixies song, come from Norway and have the ghost of Sid Vicious come visit you in a German castle with messages from beyond the grave? No, me neither, but this is that band; this is self-proclaimed trash-pop hiding under the guise of Surferosa!

So, first things first, do Surferosa sound anything like the Pixies? No.

Next paragraph then…Surferosa are a female fronted Scandinavian outfit who have used the word pop in describing themselves; second obvious question then- are Surferosa, in fact, Roxette? Unfortunately this cruel, cruel world doesn’t hold a proviso big enough for two Roxette’s, yet some of Surferosa’s material does not distance itself that far from that of the slinky Swedes. This is typified in the endearingly titled ‘Unit (Supply of 11 Roses)’- saccharine induced synth-pianos are at an all time high, blended with drums of mathematic tightness and swooning vocal melodies. Please, don’t let this put you off, they do hold some credibility, and not just in a postmodern ironic consumption regard that I hear is all the rage nowadays.

Yes, the songs are fundamentally pop, but more in the vein of guitar pop like the Donnas than say Busted. There is also a strong punk influence in ‘Shanghai Heart’; X-Ray Spex, Hazel O’Connor and Siouxie and the Banshees spring to mind. The Asiatic guitars of the Banshees’ ‘Hong Kong Garden’ are heard in such ‘choons’ as ‘Chinese Moon’, ‘Neon Commando’ and ‘Panorama’; this exemplifies what the ‘rosa are all about, a band that wants to have good clean (listen to the polished production to hear cleanliness!) fun and spread it to any part of the world they can, whether it be through lyrics about ‘German Socks’, or through French vocals (‘Canuba Toystore’), or Europe like synthesizers. Yes there are times when all this production doesn’t actually go anywhere (‘Saturday Night’), but that’s what pop’s all about, the ability to get lost in the moment.

“Start a teen cold war” sing Mariann’s cronies on ‘Satin Con Blonde’, Surferosa are hardly the catalyst for such a revolution, more a catalyst for japery and hi-jinx!