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Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, and Ira Elliot
have been playing music and listening to it,
long enough to know exactly what kind of band
they want to be - which, at this point, is exactly
the band they are. This is how it happened.
In high school, Matthew and Daniel discovered
a mutual penchant for the rock. So they decided
to play it. After a few short-lived bands (The
Cost of Living, Because Because Because), the
two eventually formed a trio, calling themselves
Nada Surf. They played around NYC and
released a single on a friend's label, which
landed them a deal with a Spanish record
company. The ensuing album, however, was
never released. Around this time, Nada's
original drummer split, and the boys drafted
Ira (they'd seen him play in the Fuzztones,
NYC's premiere garage-rock revivalists, and
were smitten by his skill and hilarity).
Then things started happening. In the fall of
'95, the boys released the Karmic EP
on No. 6 records, hooked up with Elektra, and
met Ric Ocasek, who produced their debut
LP, High/Low, released in 1996. The
video for "Popular," from which Matthew
inherited a nice cordury suit, was played quite
a bit on MTV, and the record sold nicely. So
they made another, The Proximity Effect,
in 1998 with Fred Maher (Luna, Lou Reed,
Matthew Sweet). But then, after the album had
already been released in Europe and was
doing well, Elektra asked the band to go
hunting for a single for the US release. Nada
Surf said no and was dropped. A protracted
rights battle delayed the album's U.S. release
until 2000, on the band's own label, MarDev
Records.
Now it's time for another. Their best yet.
Nada Surf recorded Let Go in 2001. It
was produced by Chris Fudurich (who
engineered The Proximity Effect) who
shared mixing duties with Bryce Goggin,
Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, Louie
Lino, and Juan Garcia. And as for the label:
after making the record on their own, Nada
Surf has split up the chores between three
human-sized labels they've liked for a long
time - LABELS in Europe, Heavenly (Beth
Orton, Doves) in the U.K. and Barsuk in
North America. Labels run by nice folks who
believe in the bands they sigh. Nada Surf have
made a record that answers to no one but
themselves - channeling everything they love
about the bands they grew up with (The Soft
Boys, The Modern Lovers, Big Star), as well as
their like-minded peers (Flaming Lips, Frank
Black, Blonde Redhead). The songwriting is
remarkably astute and the band's eagerness
to tinker with (and gladly overhaul!) stodgy
rock formulas sets these new songs far apart
from, well, pretty much anything these days -
reminding even the most jaded music snoot
why they started buying records in the first
place: to find something great where you
never thought to look. Like Let Go - an
album that seamlessly blends graceful rock
("Inside of Love," "Blonde On Blonde"),
acoustic nostalgia ("Blizzard of '77," "La Pour
Ca"), matured power-pop ("Happy Kid," "The
Way You Wear Your Head"), sheer beauty
("Paper Boats," "Neither Heaven Nor Space"),
and songs about fruit flies.
Nada Surf has learned a lot over the years.
That's what makes them good. What makes
them great though, is what they've known all
along: You can grow up without growing old.
And you'll make better records for it.
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CD: Let Go
Label: Barsuk Records
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CD: Let Go
Label: Barsuk Records
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CD: Let Go
Label: Barsuk Records
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