I am not sure what it is with this Winter and bringing us killer beach records but I certainly don’t have a problem with it. Earlier this winter we had the Real Estate record that gets listened to non-stop still around here and now we have Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast, which is hands down, this week’s Record of the Week.

That’s not to say there isn’t much good in terms of new releases this week. Au contraire my good friends. This week has brought us the long awaited new Spoon album, Transference($9.97 in the store for the remainder of January and February!), the surprising debut album by the Hotrats, Turn Ons, as well as new releases by Cold War Kids, RJD2, and Eels.

The new Spoon is one of the best things they have put out. After the Got Nuffin’ single, I was actually a bit excited about Transference coming out, whereas before, I never really put much stock in the band. I might have to go and re-listen to their back catalog a bit more as there are some really great pop songs on this album in “The Mystery Zone,” “Written in Reverse,” and “Trouble Comes Running”. Not only are they great pop songs but these guys can hit some tight, nearly krauty, grooves sometimes!

The second honorable mention this week is from The Hotrats. Seriously everything about this album says we shouldn’t like it. An entire album of covers? Members of Supergrass(no offense Supergrass fans!)? Well this album manages to buck all conventions as it’s seriously one of the more fun albums we have come across this year. The two piece consisting of a singer/guitarist and drummer manage to make a lot of these songs sound very full as well. Their version of “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” is nearly unrecognizable until the chorus and is one of the more chill songs on the album. Their play on Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” is a seriously killer late 70′s jam turned seriously killer mid 90′s slow jam. Plus the great covers of Bowie’s “Queen Bitch,” the Doors “the Crystal Ship,” Roxy Music’s “Love Is the Drug,” and Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up,” well you get the point now that I’ve named half the tracklisting.

Last but not least, the Record of the Week itself, Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast. Hailing from Florida, this band plays beach friendly indie pop that is seriously infectious. Like a more refined Real Estate, Surfer Blood’s music has a certain level of reverb as evidenced on their song “Swim” below. I have read a lot of people compare it to early Weezer although I suppose I’m not really an authority on that as I didn’t ever dig Weezer so much. But I do love Surfer Blood! A strange thing does happen on this album right around track six, “Twin Peaks,” where the singer seems to get a bit of a Morrissey accent out of nowhere, which totally makes the song.

All in all, it’s a pretty great week for new releases and I highly suggest you check out the songs we posted from these albums below. And if you find yourself making a trip to the store this week, odds are you’ll hear one of these three albums being played as we haven’t really been able to stop!

"Swim" from Surfer Blood's 2010 album Astro Coast

"Twin Peaks" from Surfer Blood's 2010 album Astro Coast

Honorable mentions for January 19th Record of the Week:

• Spoon – Transference (Merge)
  "Written in Reverse" from Spoon's 2010 album Transference
• The Hotrats – Turn Ons (Fat Possum)
  "Queen Bitch" from The Hotrats' 2010 album Turn Ons