Album Review: Easy as Pie, The Surfrajettes (2024)

This is such a great album cover. Easy as Pie, by the Surfrajettes, 2024.

The Surfrajettes are one of my favorite bands that I’ve discovered over the last couple of years. This Toronto-based quartet plays instrumental surf music with a modern flair, and they are fantastic in concert. Earlier this month, the Surfrajettes released their second full-length LP, Easy as Pie. Their debut LP Roller Fink was released in 2022, and I reviewed that album here. 

Easy as Pie is a fantastic album, showcasing the excellent interplay among the band members. Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff trade lead guitar duties, Sarah Butler plays bass, and Annie Lillis handles drums and percussion. Shermy and Nicole write the original songs for the band, and they do a great job crafting catchy instrumentals that are fun to listen to. There’s also enough complexity to their songs that they bear repeated listening—I’m always catching something I didn’t hear before. Easy as Pie features 7 new originals from Nicole and Shermy, and 5 cover versions.  

Most of the songs on Easy as Pie follow a food theme, which is a clever idea that is carried over into the art design and packaging of the album. The album cover shows the Surfrajettes dressed as waitresses in a diner, and the music video for the song “Easy as Pie” is also set in a diner. There’s a special insert in the album that is meant to mimic the look of a diner placemat—it features ads for diners and guitar makers, and it’s a very fun touch to the album design. (There’s also an ad for Shermy’s stitchery business.)  

“Easy as Pie” is a fast-paced, dynamic album opener, and it lets the listener know that you’re in a for a fun time. “Toasted Western,” named after a sandwich that is popular in Canada, but not very well-known in the United States, has a country feel, appropriate to the title. There’s a fun music video for “Toasted Western” that the group filmed on an iPhone in the middle of a cornfield while on tour. On “Clam Chowder” you can hear Annie rocking that surf beat, and there’s a lot of reverb and tremolo bar action on the guitars. Next is a very fun version of the Spice Girls song “Spice Up Your Life,” and the song is a perfect example of how the Surfrajettes are able to take a pop song, translate it to the surf guitar sound, and put their own fun spin on it. “Double Reverb” is one of my favorite songs on the album, and it’s a great showcase for the drumming of Annie Lillis, who is drumming up a storm on this tune, constantly pushing the song forward. Her drumming on this song is like a far-off rumble of thunder in the distance that occasionally breaks into a storm. “Chiffon Daydream” is a beautiful ballad, and it’s easy to imagine slow dancing to this song.  

Leading off side two of the album, “Instant Coffee” is another fast-paced rocker, and Annie’s drumming is superb, with tons of great fills. Also dig Sarah’s always excellent bass playing on this tune. “Word Salad” starts with a catchy guitar riff that is doubled before the drums and bass join in. It’s a great example of how the Surfrajettes are able to create interesting songs that are fun and varied in their sounds and textures. “Hot Doggin’” is a fun tune that calls up summer days at the beach. “Priss and Vinegar” has been a staple of the Surfrajettes’ live sets for a while, and in addition to being a great title, is a great example of Shermy and Nicole’s twin guitar work. One of the fun things about seeing the Surfrajettes in concert is watching how Shermy and Nicole trade off between lead and rhythm guitar. “Lickity Split” has a really fun guitar sound, with the main riff being playing very low before it’s echoed in a higher octave. The ringing guitars at about 50 seconds into the song are fantastic to listen to. The final song on the album is a fun version of the Nancy Sinatra song “Sugar Town,” a perfect tribute to a classic 1960’s artist. 

Easy as Pie is a fantastic showcase for the talents of the Surfrajettes, and it’s an engaging listen from start to finish. The LP is available in different “flavors” of colored vinyl, another fun touch. I’d highly recommend Easy as Pie, as it’s easy as pie to enjoy the sweet sounds of the Surfrajettes.