Surf Rock is Dead — an on-the-rise indie group from Brooklyn — unveiled their newest single, “Diabolik.” The song is the third single from their upcoming debut album, Existential Playboy, which will be released on May 1.
Videos by American Songwriter
Right off the bat, the song starts with an exciting, 80s-tinged guitar riff that keeps the momentum, energy and spirits of the tune high. From there, it blossoms into a lush, driving soundscape that manages to feel equally breezy as it does dark. When the glossy vocals enter with unabashedly modern melodies, the complete picture is one that the listener can blissfully get lost in.
“‘Diabolik’ is about dealing with some extreme situations we’ve encountered living with various people in NYC,” the band explains. “Sometimes you never know what you’re going to get… Whether it be a roommate sleeping on the bathroom floor, a pile of who-knows-what on the living room floor or strangers ending up in YOUR room, sometimes it’s not exactly how you imagined your life. ‘Diabolik’ is a venting of those crazy roommate situations that suck in the moment, but given enough time, actually are pretty damn funny.”
“The human experience is always throwing you into dark alleyways that leave little light for direction and navigation,” the band told American Songwriter. “Ultimately, it tells a story of the pernicious nature we often show to the closest people in our lives, but somehow (and sometimes) are able to omit from our everyday interactions outside the circle of friends, loved ones, and the home.”
Surf Rock is Dead formed in 2014 when guitarist Kevin Pariso (of Chicago) and Joel Witenberg (of Melbourne, Australia) began creatively collaborating. Since then, the group has put out two EPs — 2015’s SRiD and 2017’s We Have No Friends? The group also released two singles in 2019 for Existential Playboy, “Our Time” and “Away Message.”
Self-produced, “Diabolik” certainly highlights Surf Rock is Dead’s potential to be a hot item for indie fans in 2020. Between the aesthetic appeal and the catchy melodies, the track is prime material for any summer playlist.
Listen to Surf Rock is Dead’s new single, “Diabolik,” below:
