On their 2010 debut, Surfer Blood hit indie-pop nirvana a few times, notably on the African-guitar-spiked "Swim." This EP goes three-for-four, packing so many familiar hooks and devices, geeks may want to footnote them. The Smiths' tuneful melodrama ("I'm Not Ready") and the Pixies' guitar sugar rush ("Miranda") loom large. But John Paul Pitts' preppy tenor is coming into its own, especially on the tongue-tied confession "Voyager Reprise." The pop pandering is a little shameless, sure, but that's half the fun.

Listen to "Voyager Reprise":

“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.