Though Nada Surf’s first hit was the Weezer-esque
“Popular” (from their 1996
debut album, High/Low, which
was produced by the Cars’ Ric
Ocasek), the irony for New
York-based trio of Matthew
Caws (vocals and guitars), Daniel
Lorca (bass/vocals), and Ira Elliot
(drums/vocals)—who are still
going strong 16 years later—is
that it has also been their biggest
to date. “Popular” reached No.
11 on Billboard’s Modern Rock
charts, but the band never quite
achieved big mainstream success
with its follow-up efforts. But
when you consider the tune’s
sardonic teardown of the whole
concept of coolness, that failure
to ignite big-time might not
seem like such a surprise after all.
But it gets even more ironic.
When it came time for the
threesome to record their 1998
sophomore effort, The Proximity
Effect, Elektra Records didn’t
think it was commercial enough
and told them to record a few
cover songs and/or an acoustic
version of “Popular” to release
as singles. In the spirit of their
breakthrough song, Caws and
company declined—they felt the
album was just fine as-is. Elektra
responded by dropping the
band after the album’s European
release—right in the middle of
the subsequent tour.
One gets the feeling the
label still regrets that decision,
Matthew Caws plays his trademark Les Paul at a concert in Italy on February 23, 2012. Photo by Marina Ravizza
though, because Nada Surf
came into its own during that
period: Though fickle fate hasn’t
since struck with the same fortuitous (and financially rewarding) timing that it did with
“Popular,” Caws, Lorca, and
Elliot have since perfected their
power-pop hooks, delectable
multi-harmony background
vocals, and dynamic guitar-layering approach in a way that
could’ve been exploited to great
effect by a major label.
And with this year’s
super-energetic The Stars Are
Indifferent to Astronomy, Nada
Surf proves the intervening years
have only made their infectious songwriting more potent.
Chock-full of radio-ready choruses augmented with cranked,
harmonically rich power chords
and crystalline acoustic textures,
Astronomy builds on Surf’s successful approach by bringing
in former Guided by Voices
guitarist Doug Gillard to act as
a creative foil to Caws’ ’ 68 Les
Paul-powered foundations.
In our recent interview, Caws
proved anything but indifferent to his craft, going into great
detail about his love for his
Marshall JCM800 and his collection of low-powered vintage
amps, as well as his painstaking
songwriting process and his
meticulous methods for laying
down bracing, multitextured guitar tracks in the studio.
