Send "Surrogate " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Absolutepunk |
 Who?After releasing two criminally under-promoted full-lengths via Tooth and Nail, Chico, California’s Surrogate parted ways with the label and went underground for a while. Now they’ve returned with Diamonds and Pearls EP, a stacked seven-tracker that feels like a full-length. How is it? What made Surrogate under-promoted was the infinitesimal amount of, well, promotion they received. What made them criminally under-promoted was their home run sound. Aside from some tighter songwriting, they haven’t changed their sound up too much since their last full-length here on this EP. That means you can expect something along the lines of a creamy The Format-meet-Copeland blend, infused with strains of alt-country and ‘60’s pop – basically some of the most cohesively executed music you’ll hear all year. The EP can be divided into two predominant tones. On volume crankers like “Pearls,” “Old Life,” “Diamonds” and “Settle,” it’s cautiously optimistic over clanging guitars. “My motivation for practicing patience, I’m in love with a girl who likes diamonds and pearls,” schmoozes one line. Later on, it gets fatherly: “Say it loud, lay it down, make me proud. Be kind and say it from the heart.”...full text |
| Indemusicnews |
| As soon as I was handed Surrogate’s new EP, I was that excited I nearly did a little poo. Unbeknown to this California based indie band I am one of their biggest fans, I hope they take over the world. I bet Independent Music News readers are like: “He’s from a dingy back-alley in Preston, how does he know these guys?”, Well I travel around baby. To be honest, I’m a liar like someone from Jeremy Kyle. American readers, Jeremy Kyle is a psychologist who picks disdainful images of the UK out of his hair and chews on them until they become dust, just like Jerry Springer. Anyway, I lied. I love this band, but I only listened to their material today. Lets review their stuff: Pearls, I love pearls. The intro is like something from a Star Wars film, it gives the audience something to do. However after the initial hiccup, the song turns into a sea adventure. I feel like I’m wresting an octopus with hatred running through my veins. The only way to defeat the beast is with a change in pace. Guess what? the song does exactly that. I was thinking while listening to this track, wouldn’t it be great on a movie soundtrack?. “Thanks for the idea”, says Christopher Keene (vocals) “…you can have all the money if it happens”, thanks guys. Next song: Can’t Go Home, got no money. Running through the woods naked, I would advise you not to listen to this song if you don’t want this to happen. Seriously listen to it, I was only joking. I meant to say that this track makes you feel warm inside so you get that urge to strip down to nature’s taunt. Next song: Old Life, has got life. My mind was blown when this track started, it was like a nuclear bomb had blown a hole in my roof. It starts like a tigers roar but slows down in the middle, after eating a deer. The vocals talk to you like a nice teacher, remember to finish your English homework. However, this track is the bad pupil in the class. “Fuck you teacher” he replies. This is his acknowledgement the world. Next song: Diamonds, are forever. We’ve slowed down again, been attacked by a murder victim but escaped. This song feels like we’re running from something, maybe we’ve just robbed someone or nicked a kid’s bike. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is it feels like band are trying to flee from their original style. Next song:...full text |
| Indievisionmusic |
| After two full-length records on Tooth & Nail, the guys in Surrogate (both former members of Number One Gun) decided to expand to a full, four-member band and take things out on their own, self-releasing a new EP, Diamonds and Pearls. It is everything the former records were but better, full of even more moving music and lyrics as Surrogate pour their hearts out in every rock and roll minute of this indie-folk treasure. These songs are decidedly heavy-hearted, even on the more upbeat tracks like “Old Life,” a snarky tune about having a heart attack and learning “rock and roll’s a young man’s game.” In fact, if I were to put together a playlist of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard, at least two from this release would have a good chance of making the cut: “Can’t Go Home” and “Hope Alaska.” The first is about a terrible break up with a girl and turning to constant alcohol abuse as a solution. At one point the verse sings, “Repetition takes the fun out of abusing substances, and we don’t have much fun around here.” The chorus is overflowing with emotion as it cries, “Gonna learn when all the bars are open, ‘cause I can hardly breathe when I’m alone. And I’ll drink away the memory, ‘cause I know that I can’t go home.” It breaks my heart every time I hear it, which is what I call unbelievably good songwriting. Things do lighten up for the soft and slow “Steal Your Blood,” a delicate love song about never being able to leave a certain girl with a big heart, but the album ends with my other saddest song, “Hope Alaska.” This country ballad sings of the humiliation of having to “pay my bills singing songs that someone else wrote, [because] no one round here gives a damn I write my own.” After identifying his cover band venue as a casino, it’s hard to tell if he’s serious when he says “gambling’s a sin,” but the point of the song is that he wants to get away to a place without all the brokenness, depravity, and monotony of everyday life. Overall: Diamonds and Pearls is a record of longing. Longing for home. Longing for an end to the emptiness and heartache. Longing for, ultimately, the hope of the Resurrection. It is only hinted at in the language of poetry and metaphor, but like the prospector’s gold it is glimmering just beneath the surface, covered by all the messy mud and dirt of this earth. And there is plenty of gold to find in this record, but only if you’re willing to get your hands dirty by stepping into the harsh realities of human life....full text |
Surrogate lyrics
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