“Always Love”
from the album The Weight is a Gift
2005
iTunes
Watch the video of “Always Love” via Barsuk Records
[QuickTime movie]
Outside of a small handful of pop fiends who lapped up Nada Surf’s indie pop for the past six years and will quite willingly corner unaware passers-by to preach the love for the band, Nada Surf’s still best remembered for its 1996 fluke hit “Popular,” a deadpan shot at the emptiness of the high-school A-list.
The goofy tune made Nada Surf instant geek-pride winners among budding emos as well as more mature rockers. Now, nearly a decade after “Popular” put the band on the mainstream’s cultural radar for about a millisecond or two, Nada Surf stands a good chance to become popular — the real deal, no less — with The Weight is a Gift.
The Weight is a Gift positions Nada Surf to continue its indie-pop momentum, as the sharp melodies and literate lyrics are everything college-pop fans have lapped up for years, while the tentative ties to Death Cab through Barsuk, as well as the gentle pop favored by “The O.C.” generation are there too. Threading the needle, Nada Surf manages to maintain its indie credibility as the world at large is finally clued into its direction.
While it doesn’t quite stack up to the pop tour-de-force of 2002’s Let Go, it follows the same pattern, as Nada Surf follows its instincts and plays straightforward, if sometimes light pop. All the usual touchpoints are there, be it the allusions to Brian Wilson and Cheap Trick-lite songwriting, or the blunt comparisons to Death Cab or The Shins. Those are easy allusions, however, and only faintly do Nada Surf justice. “Always Love” punches up crackling distorted guitars, but singer/guitarist Matthew Caws’ vocals take some of the power-pop bite out of the track. “Blankest Year” sparks with energy, as the trio somehow finds a carefree bop to offset its hopeless lyrics, while “In the Mirror” finds full-bodied arrangements without having to resort to ear-blowing volumes.
In a time when every popster is working overtime to perfect his or her soft, gentle approach, Nada Surf shows us that you don’t need warm-milk dynamics and hushed vocals to fit into the modern pop landscape. Although touches of power pop and off-the-shelf indie pop color The Weight is a Gift, Nada Surf reinforces the impression it made with Let Go: It’s one of today’s premier pop outfits.