SURFACES ENTER A NEW CHAPTER WITH A MORE PERSONAL SOUND / TREES / 3.26.27
After building a global audience with their unmistakable blend of soul, pop and laid-back grooves, Texas-born Surfaces return to Dallas with All the Space Between, an album that finds founder Colin Padalecki rebuilding the project around some of his most personal songwriting.
– JAMBALOO EDITORIAL TEAM
Surfaces have spent nearly a decade making music that feels instantly recognizable. Their combination of relaxed rhythms, warm melodies, hip-hop influences and sun-soaked production has attracted billions of streams and established the Texas project as one of the most successful independent pop acts to emerge from the state in recent years. When Surfaces arrive at Trees in Dallas on March 26, however, they will be bringing a considerably different version of the group that first captured international attention.
Originally formed by Colin Padalecki and Forrest Frank, Surfaces broke through with their 2019 album Where the Light Is, particularly the enormous success of “Sunday Best.” The song became a global hit, its easygoing optimism finding an audience through streaming platforms and social media before crossing into mainstream radio. Subsequent releases expanded that success, including a collaboration with Elton John on “Learn to Fly” and albums such as Horizons, Pacifico and Hidden Youth.
The group’s appeal was rooted in a musical approach that brought together soul, reggae, jazz and contemporary pop without becoming overly complicated. Songs like “Good Day,” “Take It Easy” and “I Can’t Help But Feel” developed an identifiable atmosphere, with understated production and conversational melodies giving the music an unusually approachable quality.
That identity faced a significant change following the departure of Forrest Frank, who moved on to pursue his increasingly successful solo career. Padalecki continued Surfaces, eventually beginning work on music that would reflect a particularly difficult period in his personal life.
Their seventh album, All the Space Between, released in July 2026, marks the first Surfaces record with Padalecki leading the project alone
The sixteen-track album retains much of the relaxed musical character associated with Surfaces, but its songwriting moves into considerably more reflective territory. Written during a period of personal upheaval, the record explores relationships, loss, acceptance and the sometimes difficult process of moving forward.
Opening track “Blame It All on Me,” featuring Mike Posner, introduces those ideas through a song about unconditional love and learning to accept support from others. The collaboration brings together two artists with a natural understanding of understated pop songwriting, allowing the emotional weight of the lyrics to emerge through an arrangement that remains characteristically light.
Elsewhere, “Call Me When You’re Home” and “Let ‘Em Go” examine different aspects of connection and emotional release. The latter pairs its reflective message with the relaxed guitar-driven sound that has long defined Surfaces, while songs including “Guess We’ll Never Know,” “The Porch Song” and “Snake Eyes” add further dimensions to an album concerned with finding stability after periods of uncertainty.
Padalecki has spoken openly about the circumstances surrounding the record, describing the process of making it as an important part of working through one of the most difficult periods of his life. That experience gives the familiar Surfaces sound a different perspective, with the optimism of the earlier records now accompanied by a greater willingness to acknowledge the experiences that make happiness difficult to sustain.
The Dallas performance offers an opportunity to hear how this new material works alongside the songs that first established Surfaces. It also represents something of a homecoming for Padalecki, whose musical journey began in Texas before Surfaces developed into an internationally recognized project.
With a catalog that includes some of the most recognizable feel-good pop songs of the past decade and a new album that introduces a more personal direction, the Trees show arrives at an interesting point in the project’s development.
