22-01-2012, 13:29
online listen
new one for me although they've been around awhile
nice jangly guitar pop
Death Cab For Cutie maybe
good sound but not much variation
1.7 from me and not yet rated by the pros at allmusic
from the album - Clear Eye Clouded Mind
Nada Surf, "Clear Eye Clouded Mind" - YouTube
released Jan 24th, 2012
![[Image: r02499wwlsv.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drr000/r024/r02499wwlsv.jpg)
Bio - from allmusic
Once in danger of being relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, Nada Surf soldiered onward after the success of
1996's "Popular," following up a brief residence on the Billboard charts with a slew of solid power pop albums.
Founders Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Lorca (bass) were longtime school friends, having studied
together at the Lycée Français de New York in upper Manhattan. After Lorca spent some time abroad in the late '80s,
the two reunited after graduation to form Because Because Because in 1991. By 1993, they had jumped ship and
shifted their focus to a new project, Nada Surf, whose first two indie releases won the band a contract in Spain.
They recorded an LP for the European label, only to have their original drummer quit. Ira Elliot (formerly of the
Fuzztones) was brought aboard just as the group's European deal fell through, and the band's luck returned when
their demo found its way to Ric Ocasek, who offered to produce additional sessions if Nada Surf wished to re-record
the material.
The trio soon signed to Elektra in 1995 and cut their debut LP, High/Low, with Ocasek behind the boards. "Popular"
became a surprise radio hit the following summer, and Nada Surf found themselves lumped into the "nerd rock
revival" camp alongside Superdrag, Cake, and Weezer. This newfound popularity allowed Nada Surf to release several
tracks from their European demo as part of the Karmic EP, but it also proved to be a double-edged sword. When the
band returned in 1998 with The Proximity Effect, Elektra balked, claiming the album didn't have a "Popular"-sized
single. The album was released in Europe before Elektra permanently dropped the band and shelved the record; it
would take Nada Surf a full two years to buy back the rights to their work.
The Proximity Effect finally entered U.S. record stores in 2000, when Caws issued it on his own MarDev label, and
Nada Surf traveled the country to promote its release. After pooling together the funds of their merchandise sales,
the bandmates then entered the studio to independently record a third album, Let Go. Barsuk signed the group and
released the album in 2002; three years later, The Weight Is a Gift (produced by fellow labelmate Chris Walla of
Death Cab for Cutie) furthered the band's critical acclaim. Nada Surf then returned in 2008 with Lucky, which
featured musical contributions from Ben Gibbard, Ed Harcourt, and members of both Calexico and Harvey Danger.
Following a world tour in support of the album, Nada Surf put their original compositions on the shelf and,
instead, turned to their influences. If I Had a Hi-Fi was released in 2010, featuring covers of songs originally
recorded by Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Dwight Twilley, and others.
Album Review - from allmusic
Nada Surf celebrate their 20th anniversary with The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, the band's seventh studio
album and first collection of original material since 2008's Lucky. "Every birthday candle that ever got blown out
is one more year of someone trying to figure it all out," Matthew Caws sings in "Looking Through," a song about
aging gracefully and holding onto one's youth. Most of the other tunes follow suit; "No Snow on the Mountain" finds
its narrator coming to grips with the real world after leaving academia, and "Teenage Dreams" deals with... well,
teenage dreams. Now in his mid-forties, Caws is old enough to be cynical about all this heart-on-your-sleeve stuff,
but Astronomy sounds as timeless and wide-eyed as any Nada Surf album, taking its cues from 1960s Merseybeat, '80s
college rock, and 21st century power pop in equal measure. Those influences are rolled into ten sparkling guitar
pop tunes, which Caws and his bandmates -- bassist Daniel Lorca, drummer Ira Elliot, and guest guitarist Doug
Gillard -- drench with vocal harmonies and candied hooks. "When I Was Young" is the only track to substitute
acoustic guitar arpeggios for electric power chords, but even that song builds itself into a lush, midtempo power
ballad after the two-minute mark, as though the bandmates simply couldn't contain their optimism any longer. Like
the title suggests, Stars burns bright and fast.
Track Listing
1) Clear Eye Clouded Mind
2) Waiting for Something
3) When I Was Young
4) Jules and Jim
5) The Moon Is Calling
6) Teenage Dreams
7) Looking Through
8) Let the Fight Do the Fighting
9) No Snow on the Mountain
10) The Future
new one for me although they've been around awhile
nice jangly guitar pop
Death Cab For Cutie maybe
good sound but not much variation
1.7 from me and not yet rated by the pros at allmusic
from the album - Clear Eye Clouded Mind
Nada Surf, "Clear Eye Clouded Mind" - YouTube
released Jan 24th, 2012
Bio - from allmusic
Once in danger of being relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, Nada Surf soldiered onward after the success of
1996's "Popular," following up a brief residence on the Billboard charts with a slew of solid power pop albums.
Founders Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Lorca (bass) were longtime school friends, having studied
together at the Lycée Français de New York in upper Manhattan. After Lorca spent some time abroad in the late '80s,
the two reunited after graduation to form Because Because Because in 1991. By 1993, they had jumped ship and
shifted their focus to a new project, Nada Surf, whose first two indie releases won the band a contract in Spain.
They recorded an LP for the European label, only to have their original drummer quit. Ira Elliot (formerly of the
Fuzztones) was brought aboard just as the group's European deal fell through, and the band's luck returned when
their demo found its way to Ric Ocasek, who offered to produce additional sessions if Nada Surf wished to re-record
the material.
The trio soon signed to Elektra in 1995 and cut their debut LP, High/Low, with Ocasek behind the boards. "Popular"
became a surprise radio hit the following summer, and Nada Surf found themselves lumped into the "nerd rock
revival" camp alongside Superdrag, Cake, and Weezer. This newfound popularity allowed Nada Surf to release several
tracks from their European demo as part of the Karmic EP, but it also proved to be a double-edged sword. When the
band returned in 1998 with The Proximity Effect, Elektra balked, claiming the album didn't have a "Popular"-sized
single. The album was released in Europe before Elektra permanently dropped the band and shelved the record; it
would take Nada Surf a full two years to buy back the rights to their work.
The Proximity Effect finally entered U.S. record stores in 2000, when Caws issued it on his own MarDev label, and
Nada Surf traveled the country to promote its release. After pooling together the funds of their merchandise sales,
the bandmates then entered the studio to independently record a third album, Let Go. Barsuk signed the group and
released the album in 2002; three years later, The Weight Is a Gift (produced by fellow labelmate Chris Walla of
Death Cab for Cutie) furthered the band's critical acclaim. Nada Surf then returned in 2008 with Lucky, which
featured musical contributions from Ben Gibbard, Ed Harcourt, and members of both Calexico and Harvey Danger.
Following a world tour in support of the album, Nada Surf put their original compositions on the shelf and,
instead, turned to their influences. If I Had a Hi-Fi was released in 2010, featuring covers of songs originally
recorded by Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Dwight Twilley, and others.
Album Review - from allmusic
Nada Surf celebrate their 20th anniversary with The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, the band's seventh studio
album and first collection of original material since 2008's Lucky. "Every birthday candle that ever got blown out
is one more year of someone trying to figure it all out," Matthew Caws sings in "Looking Through," a song about
aging gracefully and holding onto one's youth. Most of the other tunes follow suit; "No Snow on the Mountain" finds
its narrator coming to grips with the real world after leaving academia, and "Teenage Dreams" deals with... well,
teenage dreams. Now in his mid-forties, Caws is old enough to be cynical about all this heart-on-your-sleeve stuff,
but Astronomy sounds as timeless and wide-eyed as any Nada Surf album, taking its cues from 1960s Merseybeat, '80s
college rock, and 21st century power pop in equal measure. Those influences are rolled into ten sparkling guitar
pop tunes, which Caws and his bandmates -- bassist Daniel Lorca, drummer Ira Elliot, and guest guitarist Doug
Gillard -- drench with vocal harmonies and candied hooks. "When I Was Young" is the only track to substitute
acoustic guitar arpeggios for electric power chords, but even that song builds itself into a lush, midtempo power
ballad after the two-minute mark, as though the bandmates simply couldn't contain their optimism any longer. Like
the title suggests, Stars burns bright and fast.
Track Listing
1) Clear Eye Clouded Mind
2) Waiting for Something
3) When I Was Young
4) Jules and Jim
5) The Moon Is Calling
6) Teenage Dreams
7) Looking Through
8) Let the Fight Do the Fighting
9) No Snow on the Mountain
10) The Future
