Before I saw them live, I wasn’t really a big fan of SURFACES. While I knew and enjoyed a few of their hit songs, like “Sunday Best,” “24 / 7 / 365” and “Heaven Falls / Fall on Me,” SURFACES’ music isn’t something that I’d ever voluntarily put on.
However, seeing them perform live really changed my opinion on the indie-pop band. The duo is composed of Colin Padalecki and Forrest Frank, who met in Texas in 2017 and have been creating music together ever since. Frank sings and produces and Padaleck writes and sings, and together they create upbeat music and ‘chill hits’ influenced by electronica and ‘70s R&B with traces of jazz, soul and pop. They were great performers, both extremely energetic and the pair danced around with the crowd the whole night.
The band came to Madison on Nov. 18, stopping in with opener Public Library Commute on their Good 2 Be Back tour. With this being the band’s first series of shows since the pandemic began, SURFACES stayed true to their tours’ namesake, showing fans how good it really is to be back.
The band has almost 10 million monthly Spotify listeners, and this huge following showed up to the Majestic Theatre. The line was wrapped around the block, and fans were waiting in the freezing cold to see SURFACES perform. The queue was so long that Public Library Commute was on their last song by the time I made it inside.
SURFACES is definitely a band I’d recommend you see if you enjoy an entertaining show. Because most of the band's songs are extremely upbeat, their feel-good, self-described “no shirt, no shoes, no problem” pop creates a super fun atmosphere for concertgoers. I will say that a lot of SURFACES’s songs sound very similar. Some might suggest that this is a bad thing, but the good news is that if you like one of their songs you’ll certainly like them all.
The duo played “Sunday Best,” last and it was the perfect song to end off the night. The crowd went wild. Overall, for a hesitant listener like myself, the performance was great. SURFACES’ fantastic energy really changed my opinion on the band.
Final Grade: B+
