Sofa Surfers - 'Sofa Surfers'

Sofa Surfers will never drag you on to the edge of your seat but as you serenely submerge into a sea of cushions that thought will gently drift away.

Album Review by Billy Hamilton | 16 Apr 2006
Album title: 'Sofa Surfers'
Artist: Sofa Surfers
Label: Klein
There's nothing quite like loafing out on the couch while the world spins leisurely round, but unlike Sofa Surfers most of us fail to make a career of it. Not content with being named after everyone's favourite sabbatical pastime, this Viennese quartet has produced a slow-burning record perfect for the lethargically challenged. A pertinent menace of Mogwai lingers like an under-nourished hangover, yet within this threatening demeanour lies a blissful tranquillity. The coiling Kruder & Dorfmeister-esque backdrop is perfectly complimented by the jazzy tones of vocalist Mani Obeya, creating an elegant balance between ambient experimentation and melancholic R&B. At times it sounds numbly anaemic and at one point digresses into a torturous menage of US rock/rap - thankfully this is short-lived. Sofa Surfers will never drag you on to the edge of your seat but as you serenely submerge into a sea of cushions that thought will gently drift away. [Billy Hamilton]
Sofa Surfers' is out now.