Nada Surf
Let Go

THE REVIEW

We all remember Nada Surf thanks to their splendid debut "High/Low" released back in 1996, when with the single "Popular," which was highly played even by MTV, they achieved a good international success. Unforgettable was their concert at the Trash in Berlin, I believe in 1997.
Following that, in 1998 came the disappointing "The Proximity Effect" which, despite the production by Fred Maher, failed to deliver exciting songs or new ideas compared to the debut album.

To be honest, Nada Surf seemed done for: they disappeared from the indie scene for four years, only to re-emerge in 2001, the year of recording their latest work, "Let Go," released last autumn in Europe.

Musically, they have definitely distanced themselves from the energetic grunge/indie rock of "High/Low."
The common thread is no longer the wonderful and simple clean-distorted guitar changes, but rather much more refined, melodic and serene compositions, confirming a cycle of maturation that led them to record with the support of a certain Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, The Clash) an album much more sentimental and in some ways even commercial, where the enchantment comes more from the voice, elegant and enchanting, than the guitars.
The final result is a good Indie-Pop album, at times Low-Fi, filled with splendid romantic ballads reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub, Grandaddy, Pixies or Pavement, where the livelier tracks are exceptions to the rule.

All in all, theirs is a positive maturation that tends to look to the future without forgetting or renouncing their rock roots, without entirely disrupting their sound, without using "electronica" interference.

An album where half of the songs are potentially great hit singles, it undoubtedly deserves – especially nowadays – not to go unnoticed, at least here on de-baser.

A biography of the band on Hellfire (who kindly linked us).