Channeling the sounds and spirit of indie rock’s greatest touchstones, Surfer Blood have accomplished much in their short existence. 2010’s Astro Coast [Kanine Records] is the sound of an exuberant band just rounding into form, and provides some of the catchiest jams in years.

Surfer Blood was officially formed in 2009 by guitarist and vocalist John Paul Pitts and drummer Tyler Schwarz, two dudes who had been friends since high school. Rounded out by guitarist Thomas Fekete, bassist Brian Black, and percussionist Marcos Marchesani, the quintet has been touring nearly non-stop since its inception, and that familiarity is on display on the band’s recently released debut full-length.

The group combines tasty indie rock and clever lyrics in the style of Weezer and Pavement with plenty of reverb and cool melodies. Surfer Blood’s strength, though, lies in its consistently interesting guitar work, packing songs with enough hooks, riffs, and chunky chords to assuage even the most disillusioned of rock fans.

Put a tune like “Floating Vibes” or “Swim” onto a mix CD or playlist and you’re guaranteed to get a response from friends when the song hits the speakers. With Astro Coast, Surfer Blood have given us the first great backyard barbecue album of the year.

Even a cursory run-through of Harlem’s recordings makes plain the band’s love of playing—and listening to—music. The trio rolls through sixteen tracks on Hippies, their second full-length, with each cut a nugget of garage-y rock filled with allusions to 50s girl groups, 60s pop, psychedelia, punk, and just about everything in between.

Harlem songs are stripped-down affairs, propelled by raw energy, chiming guitars and expressive vocals. The band traffics in driving rhythms and distorted chords, with most tunes barely pushing more than a couple minutes in length. Oftentimes the fellas sound like they’re in a hurry to run off a cliff, but on Hippies they manage to smartly throw in a few slower-tempo, lovesick numbers to balance things out.

Harlem——Coomers (nee Michael Coomer), Curtis O’Mara and Jose Boyer—started building their following one song at a time with their “Cover of the Month Club,” a long-running project in which the band produces their own loose versions of a wide array of songs from the likes of Devo, 60s girl group The Dixie Cups, Paul Revere and the Raiders—even Detroit techno group Drexciya. They subsequently self-release the 4-track bedroom recordings, offering them up for free on their Myspace page.

Hippies is both a welcome progression from and complement to their debut, Free Drugs . The album is due out April 6th on Matador Records.

One thing is clear about Bradford Cox: the man is a music obsessive. Whether promoting artists through his self-released mixes, churning out tracks of his own with bands Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, or playing countless shows each year, Cox’s life is one immersed in sound. His energy is abundant and infectious, resulting most recently in Logos, perhaps his most interesting artifact yet.

Athens-born Bradford Cox is a freak of a man, often eccentrically-costumed and always preternaturally thin (as the result of Marfan syndrome). He’s also a gifted and prolific songwriter, whose output cannot be contained by one band alone. Atlas Sound is his “solo gig”—a project born in the wake of a self-imposed hiatus from his experimental noise band, Deerhunter.

Atlas Sound’s second album, Logos, was almost abandoned after an unfinished version prematurely leaked from Cox’s MediaFire account. Now, Cox has been known to willfully release exclusive songs through his blog, but this was an accidental—and devastating—ooze. Luckily, he soldiered on to complete the work, buoyed by excellent vocal contributions from Stereolab’s Laetita Sadler and Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear).

Logos is full of lucid, joyful concoctions: a culmination of a lifetime spent culling LPs from dusty stacks. Its tracks gleefully pile up layers of electronics and guitars and hazy vocals, meandering from dreamy shoegaze to rock bliss. Standout cuts like “Walkabout” and “Sheila” marry 60s pop confection with Lilys-inspired indie psychedelia. With Logos, Cox has artfully constructed one of 2009’s best listens: a heart-felt tribute to the music he loves.

Atlas Sound plays the Noise Pop Festival on Friday February 26th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.  Tickets are on sale HERE