Nada Surf Lucky CD

Personnel: Coralie Clément, Ben Gibbard, Sean Nelson, Lianne Smith, John Roderick (vocals); Phil Wandscher (guitar); Phillip Peterson (cello); Martin Wenk (trumpet); Louie Lino (piano, keyboards); Ed Harcourt (piano); Joe McGinty (organ).
Additional personnel: Coralie Clément (violone); Martin Wenk (horns); Ed Harcourt, Joe McGinty, Louie Lino, Phil Wandscher, Ben Gibbard, Sean Nelson, Lianne Smith, John Roderick, Phillip Peterson.
Audio Mixer: John Goodmanson.
Recording information: Can Torres; Hall of Justice, Seattle, WA; Robert Lang Studios, Seattle, WA; The Nuthouse, Hoboken, NJ; The Sitcom; Tiny Telephone, San Francisco, CA.
Photographer: Jeremy Zilar.
On LUCKY, Nada Surf's third album since it reemerged on the Barsuk label as unlikely alt-rock survivors, the Brooklyn-based power-pop band presents another well-honed set of immediately engaging songs. Alternating between gentle melancholy moments (the introspective "Beautiful Beat") and bright bursts of melody (the twinkling "Here Goes Something"), LUCKY is a testament to the ensemble's considerable songwriting abilities, as well as frontman Matthew Caws's sincere guy-next-door charm. While those who remember Nada Surf's gimmicky mid-'90s single "Popular" may still be reluctant to follow the band's latter-day phase, those who do will be rewarded with keen and pleasantly understated pop tunes.
If Fountains of Wayne create snarky power pop songs for Friday evenings, then Nada Surf is the band for Sunday afternoons. They've grown more emotive over the years, having replaced the sarcasm of 1996's "Popular" with a grown-up focus on pop songcraft and mellow instrumentation. And they've been lucky, too -- lucky in that their audience has remained, their (once rocky) label situation has steadied, and their chops have improved. Appropriately enough, Lucky sounds like a celebration of the band's good fortune. Somber songs are still present, most notably the plaintive closer "The Film Did Not Go 'Round," but most of the album is dominated by steady, mid-tempo pop/rock. Nada Surf spent the first half of the 2000s making subdued rainy day records, which makes Lucky seem downright sunny (if not supernova bright) in comparison. There are some particularly luminous moments here, including the back-to-back punch of "Whose Authority" and "Beautiful Beat," where the songs immediately unleash their hooks and sustain that energy for minutes. "Beautiful beat, get me out of this mess; beautiful beat, lift me up from distress," sings Matthew Caws, sounding restless and happy at the same time, as if he knows his anxiety can be quelled at any moment by the sounds of his brightest record to date. But Lucky never gets lost in that sort of happiness. Nada Surf has seen too much over the past 15 years not to be cautious, and the leadoff track "See These Bones" warns younger bands to be similarly careful with their careers. "Look alive, see these bones," the lyrics advise. "What you are now, we were once -- and just like we are, you'll be dust." As the song ends, three different melodies weave themselves together, all of them instantly memorable and worthy of being a chorus in their own right. So even when Lucky tries to turn down the glow, it still radiates with the oomph of a solid power pop release, making Nada Surf's fifth album a fine finale for a weekend well-spent. ~ Andrew LeaheySpin (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Nada Surf face everyday life's cacophony with a pleasant, unfaltering, even sugary approach."
Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Throughout, Nada Surf have the ambition and the chops to realise it."
Alternative Press (p.144) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "LUCKY is full of intricate melodies and bridges, intense while at the same time awash with the delicate touch of human experience."
Q (Magazine) (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "['Weightless' is] a delicious coupling of joyful guitar riffs and Matthew Caws's warm falsetto..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] deftly crafted cat's cradle of chiming, corroded guitars, soaring strings, and Matthew Caws' reedy, vulnerable vocals carrying melodies akin to sun breaking through clouds."
Harp (magazine) (p.101) - "[I]t will bring a smile to the face of anyone who likes a simple, well-crafted tune."
The Word (magazine) (p.107) - "With their sumptuous sound, ringing melodies and Caws' mellifluous voice, this trio aren't a million miles away from Coldplay or Travis."