![]() ![]() ![]() (Fox played in the Cleveland rock band The Mice, whose Doug Gillard guests on guitar here. you know we have our rental place setup and we practice every other day that sort of normal band life. Naturally, the album kicks off with what sounds exactly like a great new Nada Surf song - the band helpfully bills "Electrocution" as "Electrocution (Bill Fox)," making it clear that If I Had a Hi-Fi's existence has just a little something to do with getting Nada Surf fans into its members' favorite music. Nada Surf's gift for wise rock uplift doesn't fade when the trio tackles other people's songs, either: Its fine new covers collection, If I Had a Hi-Fi, documents the group's ability to make even Depeche Mode sound like a bunch of hope-slinging life-lovers. In one of its greatest songs, 2005's "Do It Again," singer Matthew Caws sums up his weary-but-hopeful worldview in one line: "Maybe this weight was a gift / like I had to see what I could lift." Nada Surf’s song A Perfect Day perfectly encapsulates the feeling of pure happiness and contentment that comes with a day that everything just goes right. A wistful pop song that ponders the meaning of reality, 'Hi. The Brooklyn band makes big, bright, chin-up rock 'n' roll about love and survival, aided by some of the brashest, sweetest choruses around, but it knows how to let wistful melancholy mingle with the sunshine. Opening with 'Hi-Speed Soul' from its 2002 album Let Go, Nada Surf performed for a sold-out crowd in a live concert webcast for NPR.org. About 8 years went by where I totally forgot about the band, but then when I was in my downloading of 90's hits craze almost two years ago, I downloaded the songs 'Popular' and 'Treehouse,' eventually followed by 'The Plan' and 'Stalemate. “Teenage Dreams” is the highlight here as Caws continues his tradition of love it-or-hate it turns of phrase as he waxes about being moved to tears by a subway breakdancer: “Sometimes I ask the wrong questions, but I get the right answers.Not many musicians can pull off relentless hope and sunny optimism while maintaining their gravitas, but Nada Surf makes it work. I learned of Nada Surf from their mid-90's radio hits 'Popular' and 'Treehouse' from the album High-Low. And of course Stars is dripping with sentimentality. In fact, with the exception of lead single “When I Was Young” and “Let the Fight Do the Fighting,” Stars cruises along with an immediacy that’s been missing from the last two Nada Surf records. 11 on Billboard’s rock chart) and you don’t have a musical dud, you have a solid, under-the-radar rock band that’s done pretty well for itself. Take away their one hit (Popular peaked at No. 2008 Here are the 10 songs that Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson treasured the most in 2008. Nada Surf’s optimistic lyrics and poppy hooks not to mention frontman Matthew Caws’ emotive vocals make the band a joy to listen to. The French-sung 'La Pour Ca' offers a mesmerizing, Pink Floyd -styled laziness, while additional mellow highlights such as 'Inside of Love,' 'Blonde on Blonde,' and 'Paper Boats' somehow manage to sound sadly introspective and positively sunny at the same time, welcoming the listener to doze in their arms. Release Date: Summary Critic Reviews User Reviews Details & Credits Metascore 80 Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews Whats this User Score 7. ![]() ![]() Opener “Clear Eye Clouded Mind” sets the pace with furious guitar strums and ratatat drumming, while Caws’ vocals hover sweetly above. Hear Nada Surf perform live from WXPN in Philadelphia. That’s not to say the album lacks energy. The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy may be a mouthful to say, but the contents within are straight to the point-10 songs, no filler, that won’t necessarily knock you out of your seat, but rather leave you wanting to lean back and stay a while. And while Nada Surf’s 1996 debut LP High/Low fit perfectly with the times, and their single “Popular” essentially became a parody of the self-loathing ’90s, the New York trio more than made up for it with the pristine pop found on later releases, most notably 2005’s near-perfect The Weight Is a Gift. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that guitarist-vocalist Matthew Caws knows his way around a pop hook or two. They’ve been called one-hit wonders, sophomore slumpers, dead-and-goners, and have emerged relatively unscathed to find themselves in the year 2012. Nada Surf have managed to squeeze in several lives over the course of almost two decades together. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |