Surf Curse Keep Searching for the “Magic”
The post Surf Curse Keep Searching for the “Magic” appeared first on Consequence.
Surf Curse almost named their new album “Milky Magic.” During the recording sessions at NYC’s Electric Lady Studios for the rock group’s fourth album Magic Hour (out Friday, October 7th), frontman and drummer Nick Rattigan walked by a wall of graffiti with the words “magic trick” written on them, and suggested the phrase to his bandmates as a potential album title.
“Everyone was like… ‘ehhhhhh,'” Rattigan tells Consequence, before explaining that “magic trick” became “milky magic,” a guidepost for how they wanted the record to sound.
“There’s a smoothness to it, a coolness to it. It’s silky,” adds founding guitarist Jacob Rubeck, with fellow guitarist Noah Kholl confessing that he “had this whole thing where I was trying to get the producer, Chris Coady, to say ‘milky,’ in terms of how things sound, at least twice a day.”
That cohesive, smooth sound and spirit is what characterizes the best songs of Magic Hour, Surf Curse’s first album as a quartet, with Kholl and bassist Henry Dillon joining the lineup.
Though Surf Curse’s last album, 2019’s dazzling Heaven Surrounds You, was the band at their most hi-fi, they’ve certainly upped the ante with Magic Hour, which is also their first album for Atlantic Records. The expanded lineup and Electric Lady sessions arrive on the heels of Surf Curse’s sleeper hit, “Freaks,” a cut from their 2013 debut that received newfound success on TikTok last year. But fans of the DIY spirit of “Freaks” will certainly enjoy Magic Hour‘s vibrant energy, especially tracks like lead singles “Sugar” and “TVI.”
Though Surf Curse have never lost the intense post-punk that can both sedate you and jolt you awake, there’s a newfound tenderness — a “milkiness,” according to the band — that characterizes Magic Hour. “Love is tender,” says Rattigan, “And I feel like we can say that we love each other.”
The camaraderie between the band’s members is palpable and endearing, and they seem to be on each other’s wavelengths on and off stage; that being said, the band took the main stage at Coachella this year dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz, which was undoubtedly a fun choice… except that it was around 96 degrees in the blazing desert sun, and Rattigan’s lion costume looked like it was going to give him a heat stroke behind the drum kit. “Two or three songs in I was like, ‘This was a huge mistake,'” says Rattigan, before sharing that they all took after Dillon’s choice to wear Dorothy costumes for their weekend 2 set.
Ahead of the release of Magic Hour, Consequence caught up with Surf Curse before their exuberant set while on the ground at this year’s inaugural Primavera Sound Los Angeles — a hometown festival for the band — to discuss the new album, playing festivals, and much more. Read the full Q&A below.
First, I’d love to hear about your Coachella set this year, where each of you wore a costume from The Wizard of Oz despite it being in the high 90s with very little shade. How did that choice come about?
Nick Rattigan: Well, it was a joke…
Noah Kholl: It was a bit.
Rattigan: It was a joke that turned very real. And then became even more real when we were out there playing because I knew it was gonna be hot. I knew we were playing — well, I didn’t know we were playing that early.
Jacob Rubeck: Yeah, the stage was kind of…
Rattigan: It was in the hottest spot.
Rubeck: Yeah, there was no shade.
Rattigan: 2:30pm, on a Sunday, on the hottest day of the festival. I knew it was going to be hot and I feel like there was just some excessive pride that I had in being like, “I’m gonna be fine in this lion outfit, I will be absolutely fine,” and two or three songs in I was like… this was a huge mistake.
Rubeck: And I kept pointing at Henry, who was just in this beautiful Dorothy outfit, and he’s just flowing around and all three of us were just like in these like heavy robes…
Rattigan: It’s crazy that they would even schedule our show for that time. Like, the people in the crowd aren’t having fun either.
I mean, we had a good time.
Rubeck: Yeah, people did have a good time.
Rattigan: There were people moshing and I was like… that’s crazy. I’m glad to know as someone who was there during that you had a good time, because I was like… this is just like wrong. Like, something wrong is happening [laughs].
They should have put you guys in a tent.
Rubeck: Well, luckily, they did…
Rattigan: And it was much better.
Kholl: And we were all Dorothy.
Rubeck: Shoutout to Renee for making that magic happen.
Rattigan: And that one was much better, that was chill.
Rubeck: And we were actually very cold on that stage the second week. I was like, “Oh, I could have I could have done the Tin-Man outfit in this.”
You guys are just a few weeks away from the release of Magic Hour. What’s going through everyone’s mind right now?
Henry Dillon: We’re excited.
Rubeck: It’s exciting to get the songs out.
Rattigan: I wish the album was out now. It was supposed to come out in September, but we pushed it. It’s so different, releasing something than making it you know, because there’s so much excitement in making it. And it’s all of your life. Like it’s everything you do when you’re recording the record. We were living in a hotel right next to the studio in Electric Lady. And that’s your whole life and you’re so dedicated to it. And then you mix it and time goes on and your life changes. And then like a year later, it’s like, “Oh, this thing is coming out.” It’s almost like a memory. You know, it’s a time and place. So I think it’s really exciting for people to hear it. And there’s a lot of crazy stuff on there that we did that’s different. And yeah, I’m excited to see people’s reactions to it and to play the songs live.
What was it like recording the album at Electric Lady Studios, a place with so much legacy and history in it?
Kholl: It was magic, seriously.
Rubeck: We kept using that word a lot, you know, there was something magical about it.
Rattigan: That’s how we came up with the word magic. Well, I was walking in New York and I saw this every morning when I walked to the studio, this graffiti on the west side that said, “magic trick.” And I remember I came in and I was like, “how about we call it ‘Magic Trick?’ And then everyone was like… “ehhhhh.” And then I wanted it to be called “Milky Magic…”
Rubeck: Which was what we almost called the album. We almost called it “Milky Magic.”
Kholl: Because “Milky” is like…
Rattigan: It’s like white magic.
Kholl: It’s how we wanted the record to sound, we wanted it to sound milky.
Rubeck: Yeah, there’s a smoothness to it, a coolness to it. It’s silky.
Rattigan: Silky smooth magic.
Kholl: I had this whole thing where I was trying to get the producer, Chris Coady, to say “milky,” in terms of how things sound, at least twice a day.
Rubeck: It was the ultimate joke, you know, it was the inside joke that just kind of felt so funny, but also sort of felt, at the same time, very cool. But we were also just so self-conscious about actually calling the record “Milky Magic.”
Kholl: Yeah, and having it be the freakiest connotation…
Rubeck: It’s like Hot Dog Water by Limp Bizkit, it has that kind of vibe.
Kholl: Magic Hour is good, but the secret album name is “Milky Magic.”
I noticed that the album has a surprising amount of tenderness — there were, of course, lots of tender moments on the Surf Curse albums before, but this one feels like the tenderness is imbued in a different way.
Kholl: Well, that’s I think what you’re describing, is the milkiness. You’re actually tapping into the vibe that we wanted, which is sort of an inexplicable thing on the record that I think comes with where we recorded it and how we recorded it. And the love that we put into the songs.
Rattigan: I was gonna say, it’s love. Love is tender. I feel like we can say we love each other. And also, love being like the act of loving — even though I Star Wars‘d Noah yesterday.
Kholl: Yeah, I told Nick, “I love you, man.” And he said “I know.” And I was like, “Nick, I said I love you and you said I know.” And I was like, “You’re Han Soloing me right now, really?”
One of the album’s highlights is the sprawling “Fear City,” which feels different than any other Surf Curse song I’ve heard. How did that track come together?
Rattigan: Well, it started off as a traditional Surf Curse song…
Rubeck: Just fast.
Rattigan: When Jacob and I were writing it, we thought, “Okay, this is gonna be an OG Surf Curse banger, two minutes, just like [guitar noises].” And then when we started playing it with Noah and Henry, they came up with this crazy riff, and then I just started riff on top of it, just like spoken word-style, and we were like, “Oh, this could be like a story.” And then we had this other song called “Casey’s Song,” it had this big, triumphant ending and then we just essentially used that for the ending of “Fear City.”
Kholl: Also, I feel like when we were fleshing it out, maybe we talked about it or maybe we just like subconsciously agreed on the whole record being this nod to rock and roll music. And I feel like that song is a huge nod to like the New York no-wave scene. That music is extremely important. And I think by also having Stuart Bogie playing saxophone on it, it really ramped it up, you know?
Rattigan: Chris Coady asked, “Do you want any songs with horns on them?” And we were like, “Well, maybe ‘Fear City’ would be cool with horns.” And then Stuart Bogie came in, and I was just doing vocal takes with him in the room with the saxophone. And we were playing off each other and just came up with some crazy shit. Apparently, he had had a dream about playing a song like that.
Kholl: Yeah, he was telling me that in the ’90s, when he was living in New York, he was looking out the window of his East Village apartment and was thinking of this song that he wanted to play on, but it just didn’t exist yet. And then fast forward like 20 years, 25 years, he came in and when he heard the song he was like, “Wow, that song is the exact song I had in my head in this daydream I had,” and he said it came full circle. So he was awesome. Very cool person.
Rubeck: It was amazing just watching Nick and him go off on each other. It was like magic!
You’re about to play a major set at Primavera Sound LA. What’s it like playing a Los Angeles festival like this one, especially considering you’ve all spent so much time here over the past decade?
Rattigan: It’s really chill. It’s like the easiest thing we could possibly do. Because I kind of feel like playing at a festival is like more low stakes than playing your own show in a way because… I don’t know, it’s just more chill for some reason. And you don’t get as nervous. And there’s a lot of complimentary things. And also, I literally drove 10 minutes from my house to get here, you know what I mean? True hometown vibes, especially this area, too. It’s right next to where we all live. Our friends get to come too.
Kholl: I think out of the festivals that we’ve done this year, I feel the most relaxed. It’s not intense anywhere, everything seems to be running very smoothly. You can feel that energy here. Like people are here just to watch and listen to music and hang out with their friends.
Any other fun festival memories from the last year of touring?
Kholl: It was crazy doing that really late show for Governors Ball in New York City and then playing the festival the next day.
Rattigan: Yeah, within 24 hours.
Kholl: Yeah, that was a lot of fun.
Dillon: We played this random festival in Margate in the UK at an old amusement park. The festival just came out of nowhere, but it was super fun.
Kholl: And I got to meet L’Rain. I didn’t even know who they were, but my girlfriend likes them a lot. And I was like, I’m gonna watch them. They were so good, and some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. So it’s cool to make friends with people at these things too.
What music has been inspiring you lately?
Kholl: I’ve been listening to a ton of Herbie Hancock.
Rubeck: I’m obsessed with Ovlov right now. That’s a Nick and Henry band and I’m finally catching around to it.
Rattigan: I’m surprised you didn’t get into them earlier.
Rubeck: Oh, yeah. I don’t get it how it didn’t either. It’s right up my alley.
Rattigan: The record they put out last year was amazing. Buds, I think. That record is so fucking good.
Ed. note: You can catch Surf Curse on tour throughout the rest of the year. Buy tickets here.
Magic Hour album artwork:
Surf Curse Keep Searching for the “Magic”
Paolo Ragusa
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