''Surf's Up'' is the second album by
David Thomas and Two Pale Boys, released in 2001. The album is named after the
Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...
'
track, which the band covers.
Critical reception
The ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'' wrote that "the Two Pale Boys render Thomas's desolate vision in vivid colors." ''
CMJ New Music Monthly
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
'' wrote that "there are enough inspired bits to make one endure the few dead spots." The ''
Cleveland Scene
The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pu ...
'' wrote that the album "combines elements of the Residents' brilliantly nonsensical instrumentals, Tom Waits's terrifying but exquisite lyrics, and John Zorn's precise, free-jazz workouts." ''
The Inlander'' called the album one of 2001's best, writing that "there are no musical similarities between Thomas and the Beach Boys, but their lyrical focus on Americana tally here, though this ''Surf's Up'' is a beautiful but haunted America." ''
The Quietus
''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics.
Content
''The Quietu ...
'' wrote that the band "serve up a smattering of avant-folk, coloured by touches of electronic pulses and ''Rain Dogs'' era Tom Waits contortions."
Track listing
All tracks composed by David Thomas, Andy Diagram and Keith Moliné; except where indicated
#"Runaway" – 4:17
#"Man in the Dark" – 6:26
#"Night Driving" – 4:58
#"
Surf's Up" (
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
,
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...
) – 8:24
#"River" – 9:17
#"Ghosts" – 5:56
#"Spider in my Stew" – 5:42
#"Come Home / Green River" – 6:19
Personnel
;David Thomas and Two Pale Boys
*David Thomas - vocals, melodeon
*Keith Moliné - midi guitar, bass, sampler
*Andy Diagram - trumpet
;Technical
*Paul Hamann - engineer
*John Thompson - artwork
References
{{Authority control
David Thomas (musician) albums
2001 albums