Gold Tides may only be two years into their time together as a band, but listen to their new EP Mareas de Oro, and you'll find massive desert surf rock hooks that sound like a band closing out a decade together. Dropping the lead single "So Far So Good" earlier this summer, the catchy chorus refrain and song title are an epic understatement.

As they close out another self-described "season," Gold Tides can hang their hats on already releasing two short players, countless shows around Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and heading up to Denver this past summer to play the Underground Music Showcase, the city's booming version of South By Southwest. To celebrate another successful summer, the band debuted their long-in-the-works short film, The Void, at a Halloween party for the Jean Cocteau Cinema. Featuring a hellish ride through Purgatory, the movie started as a project to keep the band focused during those quiet months in 2020. The screening at George R.R. Martin's arthouse theatre is yet another milestone for a band building significant buzz.

While Mareas de Oro is their newest release, Gold Tides mined the six tracks from their song boneyard, with many coming from the group's infancy during the early months of the pandemic. Now repurposed and revisited, it's hard to believe that the songs are older than the ones found on last year's Fever Water. Guitarist and co-founder Lorenzo Aragon's unorthodox chord voicings are still chorus-drenched but now so expansive it sounds like the wave has fully sent him to the ocean floor amongst the reefs. Aragon also takes over vocal duties for the first time, singing an all-Spanish yarn on "Satanas." Joining Aragon for a twin-guitar attack is Jared Garcia, who joined after the recording of Fever Water and added flourishes of melodic textures to their briny formula.

Under the balmy vibes of the music lies darker lyrical themes, something that is now Gold Tides' signature. On "Sunni Part One and Two," frontman Gabe Koehler leans into this idea further. After the song's sinister and atmospheric first half, the band presses the pedal to the metal for a night drive through the cool wilderness. Staying afloat while battling a metaphoric wave, Koehler shouts, "stop fighting it, stop fighting it, stop fighting it, and run to it," with such fervor that the song is sure to be a crowd singalong favorite.

The rhythm section is all that much tighter now, with "Monsoon Seduction" showcasing drummer and co-founder Jeremy Brownstone's rapid-fire snare that erupts into a wash of cymbals and double bass pedal and elevates the song to extravagant new levels. Not to be outdone, Ricardo Aragon pulls his bouncy bass riff right out of the mid-90s to give old favorite "Sweettart" a unique alternative sheen.

Gold Tides is already looking forward to next year, ready to hunker down during the New Mexico winter. The band is well into the writing process of their next album and will head into the studio soon while planning an extensive tour that will spread their catchy breed of indie rock to other parts of the country.