An unlikely but undeniably catchy mix of Factory Records-style indie and '50s-inspired melodies, the Drums have roots that can be traced to the childhood friendship of Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham. After meeting at summer camp, the pair formed the electro-pop duo Goat Explosion while they were still in their teens. However, the band split and Pierce and Graham went on to other projects: Graham formed the indie pop group Horse Shoes, who released an EP on Shelflife in 2009. Meanwhile, Pierce and another friend, Adam Kessler, founded the new wave-inspired band Elkland, who were signed to Columbia Records and issued the album Golden in 2005. That year, Pierce left the band (which broke up in 2006) and took a hiatus from making music. In 2008, Graham and Pierce reconnected and began writing songs together, trading the electronic direction of their earlier collaboration for a guitar-based approach. Early the following year, Pierce and Graham moved from central Florida to New York City, where Kessler became their second guitarist. With the addition of drummer Connor Hanwick, formerly of Cape of No Hope, the Drums' lineup was complete, and by that summer, the band's shows were gaining buzz. Moshi Moshi released the Drums' singles "Let's Go Surfing" and "I Felt Stupid," and their debut EP, Summertime!, arrived late in 2009. The singles Best Friend and Forever and Ever Amen preceded the band's self-titled first album, which Moshi Moshi released in the UK in spring 2010; it arrived in the States that autumn.

Though South Florida doesn't have the tides to shoot the curl, West Palm Beach's Surfer Blood fuse sunny surf rock charm with indie rock cool. Guitarist/vocalist John Paul Pitts and drummer Tyler Schwarz had known each other since high school; they started playing together and connected with guitarist Thomas Fekete, bassist Brian Black, and percussionist Marcos Marchesani at an Ultra Music Festival after-party, officially becoming Surfer Blood in spring 2009. They began recording and touring almost immediately, laying down tracks in Pitts' apartment and embarking on four tours in their first five months together. The buzz around the band began in late August after Surfer Blood played a show at the Brooklyn venue Bruar Falls; when they returned to New York that fall for the CMJ Music Marathon, they played ten shows. Tours with Art Brut and Japandroids kept Surfer Blood busy for the rest of 2009, and their debut album, Astro Coast, was released in early 2010.