Always Love: A Retrospective of Nada Surf
Click below on the streaming service of your choice to listen to the playlist as your read along.
The late 1990s was a difficult period for modern rock. After its heyday in the early to mid-‘90s with grunge in North America and Britpop in the UK, mainstream audiences returned to form, embracing less inspiring forms of rock such as nu metal, while hip hop moved from the periphery into the breach and pop, as always, held steady this time led by a new wave of boy bands. However, as always in the regressive modern rock periods, there are still gems to be found, they just need a little something extra to break through.
The Playlist
“Telescope”
“The Plan”
“Popular”
“Stalemate”
“Hyperspace”
“Firecracker”
“Robot”
“Where Is My Mind?”
“Blizzard of ‘77”
“Inside of Love”
“Blonde on Blonde”
“Hi-Speed Soul”
“Always Love”
“Blankest Year”
“Whose Authority”
“Beautiful Beat”
“The Fox”
“Waiting for Something”
“When I Was Young”
“Cold to See Clear”
“Out of the Dark”
“So Much Love”
“Just Wait”
“Crowded Star”
Nada Surf came out of New York City and got its foothold in 1996 with the intriguing, novelty single, “Popular.” It was from their first LP, High/Low¸ that reached #51 on the US charts. Mixing a slacker vibe, humour, and a not-quite-rap spoken word vocal, it was a good, original track for its time. I picked up the CD and listened to it a lot, pleased to find many solid, indie rock tunes such as, “The Plan.” After that, aside from a couple songs I had on compilations (“Hyperspace” and “Inside of Love”) over the next several years, I had little clue Nada Surf was a going concern until I saw a concert announcement for them in 2018.
The tour was celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of the band’s third LP, Let Go, which they played in full. I saw the them play in the cozy confines of The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and was hugely impressed. Full of energy, a surprisingly informed, packed, and adoring audience, and a set list rife with hooks, warm melodies, and played with precision and an edge, I wondered what I’d been missing over the prior two decades. In 2021, I saw them again at The Horseshoe, this time a few feet from the foot of the stage, and again was blown away by the show. As one of the first concerts I attended post-Covid, it was the perfect return to live shows. I made it a point to delve deep into the band’s discography and now Nada Surf is one of my most played and liked bands. It’s time to share my appreciation and shine a light here at Ceremony on their impressive repertoire of great music.
“Telescope” \ Karmic EP (1996)
“The Plan”; “Popular”; “Stalemate” \ High/Low (1996)
Matthew Caws (guitar/vocals) and Daniel Lorca (bass) original met while attending a French school in New York City, Lycée Français de New York, in the 1980s. In 1991, they formed a band, Helicopter, and while cycling through drummers changed their name to Because Because Because and then, in ’93, to Nada Surf – literally meaning to surf on nothing, picking up on the slacker mood of the times (this was a period in which one of the greatest recordings was called, Nevermind). They recorded a single, “The Plan”/“Telescope,” in 1994 and a demo tape, dubbed Tafkans. They also released another single in ’95, “Deeper Well”/“Pressure Free” and then an EP, Karmic, in 1996. Their early sound was very much of the time, plowing the fields forged by the likes of Dinosaur Jr,. Pavement, and Buffalo Tom.
In 1995, they settled on a permanent drummer in Ira Elliot, ex of The Fuzztones. This was around the same time an initial deal with a label in Spain fell through. They got their break when The Cars singer, Ric Ocasek, was taken by their demo enough to offer to produce them. This led to them signing with Elektra records. Ocasek had produced Weezer’s acclaimed 1994 debut LP, which Nada Surf had a comparable sound – leading critics to dub both bands, along with others such as Cake and Ben Folds Five, ‘nerd rock’. He helmed the band’s debut album, High/Low, released in 1996. Led by the cult single, “Popular,” and featuring re-recordings of their earlier singles, it reached #63 in the US album chart.
Nada Surf as a trio: Ira Elliot (drums), Daniel Orca (bass), and Matthew Caws (vocals/guitar)
“Hyperspace”; “Firecracker”; “Robot” \ The Proximity Effect (1998)
Nada Surf then suffered the classic sophomore slump on their next LP, The Proximity Effect. Lacking a song as catchy as “Popular,” they fought with the label which insisted they add a cover tune, “Why Are You So Mean to Me?,” originally by Vitreous Humor (uh, who?), which was issued as the first single. It didn’t help, as the single and the album failed to chart and Elektra dropped the band, also refusing to release the LP in America.
The fate of The Proximity Effect was a cruel turn for what was again an LP of solid, highly listenable rock tunes, though admittedly a little too in the groove for any of them to stand out enough. The problem was that rock was in decline in that era, save for the likes of nu metal, and a somewhat twee rock act had trouble breaking through. “Hyperspace” was a fantastic tune, driven by a propulsive bassline, while “Firecracker” mixed that sound with moody interludes. The band also had a penchant for lovely ballads and Beatle-esque jangle-pop, as heard in the album’s closing track, “Robot.” It was a sign of the music industry’s fate at the end of the century that a band with such promise would be so easily disposed.
“Where Is My Mind?” \ Tribute to the Pixies & Non-album single (1999)
Despite the conflict with Elektra on the inclusion of covers on their album, Nada Surf proved to be quite adept with them and embraced their use, peppering their discography with many over their career. Such an example was their contribution to a Pixies tribute album in 1999, with a solid, straight-ahead cover of the Pixies classic, “Where Is My Mind?” Gaining attention through such a contribution was necessary to get the band attention, given they were now without label support.
The band released The Proximity Effect in the US in 2000 on their own label, MarDev, after scrounging to buy back the rights from Elektra. They also found themselves back working day jobs and facing an uncertain future, but they remained committed to their cause.
“Blizzard of ‘77”; “Inside of Love”; “Blonde on Blonde”; “Hi-Speed Soul” \ Let Go (2003)
In 2003, the band issued their third LP, this time on Barsuk Records, a Seattle based label who would go on to release all of Nada Surf’s LPs for the rest of their career (except for their 2010 covers album, If I Had A Hi-Fi, which was via MarDev). And while not re-gaining their level of success from their debut, the LP was a critical success and re-established the band among the college and indie circuits, attaining a #31 spot on the US Independent Album chart. The singles, “Inside of Love” and “Hi-Speed Soul,” also made it into the top 100 in the UK singles chart, the only time the band would attain that level of interest there. However, mainland Europe proved fertile ground, with France especially becoming a strong locale of support.
Let Go was a significant step forward for Nada Surf, revealing greater versatility in the songwriting and playing. Filled with hooks mixed into both acoustic and rocking tunes, the band’s pop sensibilities came through more effectively via great harmonies and strong melodies. The laid-back tempos of “Inside of Love” and “Blonde on Blonde” were pure sugar in the mix. Caws’ vocals were stronger and, while always front and centre, more firmly established his voice as an intrinsic element to the band’s signature sound. While all their albums had been good start to finish, Let Go was a more complete and engaging listen than what they’d offered before.
“Always Love”; “Blankest Year” \ The Weight is A Gift (2005)
“Whose Authority”; “Beautiful Beat”; “The Fox” \ Lucky (2008)
The trio continued to release two more LPs in 2005 and 2008, each showing further progress and maturity as they rolled out one great track after another. While anchored in their guitar-driven, indie rock sound, the songs got lusher, more refined, and of a consistent quality with winning hooks and a variety of styles.
Pop songs abounded with the likes of “Always Love,” “Whose Authority,” and “Beautiful Beat,” while their edgy rock side came through on “Blankest Year” and “The Fox.” Both albums were littered with lovely, mellow ballads to provide nice valleys of flowing rivers to the peppier, rockier peaks.
None of the two albums’ singles charted and the LPs also languished at the bottom of the charts, with only Lucky reaching the US top 100. Both, however, cracked the top twenty on the US Indie Chart. Europe continued to show the band love, with chart success in France and Switzerland. It was clear Nada Surf wasn’t going to be a mainstream band, despite their consistent excellence and despite a resurgence in indie rock over that decade. The band did appear often in TV shows, commercials, and video games, all of which kept them in a healthy state, if not breaking them through to greater success. In a pre-streaming era, it was no wonder they were able to avoid my awareness.
Nada Surf as a quartet: Daniel Lorca, Ira Elliot, Matthew Caws, and Doug Gillard
“Waiting for Something”; “When I Was Young” \ The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (2012)
In 2010, the band issued their covers album, If I Had a Hi-Fi (notice the title is a palindrome?), featuring a popular cover of Depeche Mode’s, “Enjoy the Silence,” along with others from Kate Bush and The Moody Blues. Doug Gillard, ex-guitarist of Guided By Voices, played on the album and then joined as a permanent member, making Nada Surf a quartet and marking their first line-up change in fifteen years.
The first LP with the new line-up was The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy. “Waiting for Something” was their next addition to their list of stellar tracks, and yet another driving rock tune with a catchy chorus. Their strength with lush ballads was no more evident than in the track, “When I Was Young,” perhaps their most ambitious of the type. While the LP was not quite as strong, start to finish, as their others, these tracks certainly showed the band could hit the highs as much as ever.
“Cold to See Clear”; “Out of the Dark” \ You Know Who You Are (2016)
“So Much Love”; “Just Wait”; “Crowded Star” \ Never Not Together (2020)
Nada Surf has since issued two more LPs in 2016 and 2020. The latter release, Never Not Together, is arguably one of their best albums, featuring more standout tracks like “So Much Love, “Just Wait,” and “Crowded Star” – again combos of impeccable pop and beautiful ballads.
I saw the band twice during this time, and among the nearly one hundred concerts I attended between the two shows, both rank in the top ten. The strength, consistency, and variety of their catalogue was on full display – not to mention being an act at the top of its performing game as their career surpassed the thirty-year mark. The appreciation of the audiences at their shows was indicative of how strongly their music has embedded itself among a loyal, if not large, contingent of fans. In an era of over-produced, overly synthetic music, it’s such a pleasure to see a band pumping out genuine, unadorned, lovely rock music. I will not hesitate to see them again when they come around, and you should too!
My (crappy) cell phone photos of Nada Surf from 2018 (left) and 2021 (right). Daniel was unable to tour with the band in 2021 due to a knee injury, with Ed Valauskas filling in on bass.
