Nada Surf Take Their Cues From Superstar Rappers

Nada Surf

For the record, yes, Nada Surf are the band behind that song "Popular" that was really big in 1996 and had that goofy video with all the jocks and cheerleaders. With their geeky persona and Ric Ocasek-produced debut, they practically begged the Weezer comparisons they were saddled with. Though they seemed doomed to go the way of countless novelty acts, Nada Surf simply didn't go... anywhere. While their sophomore album The Proximity Effect was heard by an estimated two people, 2002's Let Go was at least warmly received by critics.

Now they're back again with The Weight Is A Gift, a collection of pretty and pained pop nuggets that can stand beside anything by their indie rock contemporaries. The album was produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla.

"We wanted to work with Chris again because he mixed on Let Go even though he had a new girlfriend and the flu. He's a keeper," says singer Matthew Caws.

Given the band's level of success since they put out "the song," it seems unfair to even bring up the "P" word, lest the voice on the other end of the line erupt in a bitter rage. Even bringing up some of the band's bad press seems touchy, like the scathing Pitchfork review that awarded 3.8 to Let Go and mocked their former one-hit wonder status. Caws takes it all in stride.

"I'm fully expecting them to trash the new album! [They got a 6.4] I don't think they care about the average grade. They have wild opinions and they speak their mind. They trashed Let Go, but now it has the critical seal of approval. When I read it, at first it hurt my feelings. I thought 'Aw man, is it going to go like this?' Then again, I don't like everything I hear. I don't want to have to like everything."

In the past, the band have claimed to be influenced by the groups they listened to growing up, like the Modern Lovers and New Order, and this is evidenced on The Weight, with its bleak lyrics buried under catchy hooks. But when Caws was writing the songs for the new album, he took his cues from less likely sources, namely Jay-Z, Timbaland and Biggie.

"During the recording of this album I listened to mainstream hip-hop exclusively," he says. "That kind of music isn't about the whole song, it's more about individual verses. In hip-hop the last verse can be different from the rest of the song. You can reinvent a song two minutes in. So I tried to do that with this album."

Just as their music has certainly taken on a more sophisticated sound, Caws maintains the guys in Nada Surf have come a long way from the nerds in the "Popular" video.

"We're more relaxed and less self conscious than we used to be. I think our songs are more varied in metaphor. It's inevitable. Bands - they grow."

Here are Nada Surf's Canadian dates:

# October 11 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
# October 12 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
# October 18 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards

source: chartattack_by Amanda Factor