Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

Nada Surf - A mere fifteen years after Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca and Ira Elliot broke through with the hit "Popular", the trio of power/pop-sters return with another brash and relentlessly upbeat -- in every sense of the word -- collection of sunny rock anthems and razor sharp hooks...Much like Fountains of Wayne, Nada Surf remain remarkably inventive in their retro pop melodies -- new upstart bands can only pray they're this fresh on their first album let alone their sixth // Release: The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (January 24, City Slang) // Sounds like: According the the band, like "chocolate chip ice cream without a lot of chips...not very showy but still a very filling kind of dessert...tasty but not overly sweet"...produced by studio wiz Chris Shaw (Weezer, Wilco), Stars retains a bright, brisk overall sound while managing to add some real depth and beefy, sweaty punch to to the sonic bottom -- isn't this how guitars are supposed to sound?

Quote: "We've always played faster and a little harder live," Caws says, "but we'd play so carefully in the studio. So with this album, we made a conscious decision to preserve what it felt like in the practice room, when you play with that new-song energy. Just embrace it and not worry whether we’re overdoing it, kind of get all the thinking out of the way." // What we like: if the British Invasion was led by bazookas it might sound a bit like "Teenage Dreams", a Flaming Groovies-rock-riff extravaganza wobbling on stiletto heels..."Jules and Jim" emits waves of shimmering heat, propelled by layer upon layer of guitars and some wicked good harmonies...the insanely catchy choruses and bridges emerge  endlessly from the band's bottomless bag of perfectly formed hooks -- witness: "Waiting for Something"...

Nada Surf - "Waiting For Something" (from The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy)

Nada Surf - "Jules and Jim" (from The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy)