Surfer Girl’s Carter Reeves is already looking ahead, even as he celebrates the release of the band’s ambitious new album Midnight.
Speaking with Variance from Daytona Beach on the first day of a tour supporting The Movement, Reeves describes the new record as a significant step forward for Surfer Girl, both sonically and in how it was made.
"It’s equally surreal and momentous and special," says Reeves, admitting the release still hadn’t quite sunk in. "This is a body of work that I’ve been so excited about for so long."
The album marks a departure from Surfer Girl’s previous record, which Reeves largely created in his garage studio. This time, after developing roughly 20 to 25 demos and collaborating with guitarist Jack Pavlina as well as Noah Tauscher and Dylan Gold, Reeves took the material into the studio with producer John Joseph.
"It feels like a band playing the songs, but it’s produced in a way that still feels modern and exciting," Reeves explains, noting that the experience gave him a new vocabulary for turning his ideas into finished songs. "I learned just more about how to get my ideas from vision to final."
One of the album’s biggest surprises is "Smoked Out," a collaboration with Wiz Khalifa, but Reeves revealed the pairing actually began about three years ago. He produced the song specifically with Khalifa in mind, drawing inspiration from the rapper’s early-2010s era.
"I had that kind of 2010, 2011 era of Wiz in my head when I produced it,” he recalls. Reeves recorded a topline for the track but initially thought there was “no way” it could become a Surfer Girl song. Instead, he wondered what might happen if Khalifa heard it.
After Reeves sent the track to his label, what followed was roughly a year to a year and a half of back-and-forth before word finally came that Khalifa loved the record and wanted to record a verse.
Even more meaningful, he says, was Khalifa’s enthusiasm beyond simply appearing on the song.
"To have someone at that level and that stature actually not only being on the record in the first place, but clearly seeming to believe in it and wanting to promote it, that was above and beyond," says Reeves.
But for longtime fans, Reeves continues to stoke excitement surrounding Aer, the duo he formed with David von Mering before launching Surfer Girl. After years of silence, Aer’s social accounts have started teasing the possibility of new music, and according to Reeves, that’s no accident.
“We’re kind of mysteriously stirring the pot,” he says with a laugh, pointing to the band's Instagram post back in May, which simply stated, "We are excited to announce that we have been working on new music."
Reeves says he expects to spend less time on the road next year, allowing more room for other creative projects. That includes working with von Mering.
“Dave and I have reconnected. We’ve been working kind of in the shadows for a good bit,” Reeves explains. “We’re feeling pretty excited and ready to just put out a couple songs, see what happens, see if people like it and see if it leads to some shows or whatever.”
For now, there doesn’t appear to be a formal Aer reunion plan or larger project attached. Reeves says that he and von Mering are keeping things loose.
“We’re just having fun, and we’re keeping it open-ended,” he says. “We’re just doing it for the fans. You know, I think it’s time we give a little back.”
And while fans in the comments have joked about waiting until “summer 2040” for new Aer music, Reeves suggested they probably won’t have to wait nearly that long.
“We may pull an audible and surprise you with something sooner,” he teases.
For the moment, Reeves is still firmly focused on Surfer Girl, taking the new album on the road and hoping to continue expanding the project’s audience.
There are still bigger stages on his wish list. Maybe a headlining show at Red Rocks one day or the chance to play TD Garden in his hometown of Boston? As he continues on his musical journey, Reeves says he's learning to keep an open mind, even to things he once considered outside the realm of possibility.
“I don’t feel like there’s much standing in the way of achieving what I want from a creative standpoint,” he says.
Midnight is out now.■
