New Music Tuesday

We at middleCoast have a bit of a soft spot for one-hit wonders that keep us wondering over the years. Cool kids and dweebs alike loved Nada Surf's 1996 hit, "Popular", in all its ironic glory. Well with twelve years and three albums gone by since, the trio shakes any hint of that one-hit wonder status with their newest effort, Lucky, released today on Barsuk. With a sound reminiscent of The Jayhawks or label-mates Death Cab for Cutie, maturity sounds good on Nada Surf. With an album title like Lucky, it seems a given that you'll hear some upbeat, life-affirming jams, which we certainly get with "From Now On" and "Whose Authority". But since Nada Surf happen to make some of the best saccharine indie rock out there, they also give us the sweet melancholy of "See These Bones", "Are You Lightning?" and "The Film Did Not Go 'Round". Somewhere in the middle this combination results with an overall tone recalling The Eels, and it just sounds good. Plain and simple.

Nada Surf make their way through the Middle in Chicago April 4th at The Metro (label-mates What Made Milwaukee Famous opens).

Enjoy "Whose Authority":


Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf.

-jT