REVIEW: Nada Surf @ The 9:30 Club, Washington D.C., 4/10/12

When I headed to D.C. on Tuesday evening to catch Nada Surf at the 9:30 Club, I knew what I was in for. The show marked my fourth time seeing the New York band -- and the third time seeing them at this particular venue. The last time they performed in the area (at the 9:30 Club), they had Calexico's Martin Wenk and Guided by Voices' Doug Gillard supporting them onstage, but Tuesday night's show was the first time Nada Surf were truly performing as a full five-piece band. And while the core trio of Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, and Ira Elliot have always sounded bigger than three guys, Nada Surf sounded even more muscular and sonically rich Tuesday night thanks to the increased presence of Wenk and Gillard. I might have gone in knowing what I was in for, but I came out with more than I expected.

REVIEW: Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy
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If there’s one thing ‘90s rock stalwarts Nada Surf have proved over the past 15 years since “Popular,” it’s that they are anything but a one-hit wonder band. A journey through their back catalog will provide one album after another of consistently strong power pop rock ‘n’ roll. When plenty of their ‘90s contemporaries have faded or lost their spark, Nada Surf only seem to get better as the years go by. On their seventh studio album, the case is no different as they tackle themes of youthful reminiscing, age, time, and the inevitably of what the future might bring.

Nada Surf Announce New Album, Share New Song for Download

Nada Surf will be releasing their new studio album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, on January 24, 2012 through Barsuk (January 18th in Japan, January 23 in the UK/EU). This is the band's seventh full-length and comes on the heels of last year's covers album if i had a hi-fi. It's their first album of all new material since 2007's Lucky.

UNDER THE COVERS: Nada Surf Takes On Bill Fox's "Electrocution"

As previously reported, Nada Surf is heading out on tour next month with a new album in tow entitled if i had a hi-fi. No, it’s not full of new material, but rather, covers of some of the band’s favorite songs/artists. The album features guest spots from Martin Wenk (Calexico), Phil Peterson (Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground), Joe McGinty (Losers Lounge, Psychedelic Furs) and Holly Miranda. While it will be initially available at upcoming shows, the band plans to release the album on CD/LP as well as digitally on June 8th via the bands own label, Mardev Records, with distribution through ADA.

Hear the band’s take on Bill Fox’s “Electrocution” below.

LISTEN: Bill Fox – “Electrocution”(original)
MP3: Nada Surf – “Electrocution” (Bill Fox cover)

Here, Nada Surf certainly amps up their take, performing with their trademark pop rock sound – and oh how infectious it is. The original is a bit more subtle and vulnerable sounding. Nada Surf’s take sounds a lot more defiant but still carries the spirit of the original. It also expands upon the original's bass and guitar instrumentation with the addition of organ and the hopping kick and snare drums.

On the original, Bill Fox sounds like a some kind of weathered troubadour over ‘60s-inspired acoustic guitar fare. It’s not a far cry from his past. Fox was a member of The Mice, a garage pop band (how fitting) out of Clevand, during the late ‘80s. He ended up abandoning the music business for nearly a decade in the ‘90s, but has recently been performing around the Cleveland area following reissues of his early work.

if i had a hi-fi Tracklist:

1) Electrocution (Bill Fox)
2) Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode)
3) Love Goes On (The Go-Betweens)
4) Janine (Arthur Russell)
5) You Were So Warm (Dwight Twilley)
6) Love and Anger (Kate Bush)
7) The Agony of Laffitte (Spoon)
8) Bye Bye Beaute (Coralie Clement)
9) Question (Moody Blues)
10) Bright Side (The Soft Pack)
11) Evolution (Mercromina)
12) I Remembered What I Was Going to Say (The Silly Pillows)

Nada Surf Tour Dates:

MARCH
25 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom ("Let Go") - SOLD OUT
26 - Brooklyn, NY - Bell House ("The Weight is a Gift") - SOLD OUT
27 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg ("Lucky") - SOLD OUT
29 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace*
30 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour*
31 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street*

APRIL
01 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church*
02 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club*
03 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club*
13 - London, UK - ICA - SOLD OUT
14 - London, UK - ICA - SOLD OUT
15 - France - Printemps de Bourges Festival
17 - France - Strasbourg Artefact Festival
18 - Utrecht, Holland - Tivoli De Helling - SOLD OUT
19 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
20 - Koln, Germany - Gloria
21 - Lausanne, Switzerland - D! Club
23 - Zurich, Switzerland - Abart
24 - Vienna, Austria - WUK
25 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
26 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
27 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust
28 - Paris, France - Trabendo
30 - Villagarcia de Arosa, Spain - Festival do Norte

MAY
01 - Murcia, Spain - SOS Festival
15 - Longirod, Switzerland - Long'l'rock Festival
24 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern #
25 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour #
27 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall #
29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom #
30 - George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival

* = w/ Dawn Landes and the Hounds
# = w/ Telekinesis

Nada Surf Official Site
Nada Surf @ MySpace

Nada Surf Announce Covers Album, New Tour, + Album Shows

Beloved '90s comeback kids Nada Surf are releasing a covers albums entitled if i had a hi-fi. Taking on everyone from Kate Bush to The Soft Pack to the Go-Betweens, the band recorded the album over a three week period in September at Resonate Studios in Austin, TX with long-time collaborator and part-time keyboardist Louie Lino.

The album wasn't entirely planned, and came together on the heels of Nada Surf's world tour in support of 2008's Lucky. "The material came together spontaneously. We'd get together and kick ideas around and soon we had an A list, a B list, a C list...." says frontman Matthew Caws, "We really just wanted to do it organically, whatever we felt like covering in the moment, rather than trying to sum up our influences or something. It's whatever we were excited about in the months before making it. And I think we got to everything we wanted to."

Fans who attend any of the upcoming tour dates can pick up a copy of if i had a hi-fi before it's in stores. Among the album's 12 tracks are Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence," experimental music icon Arthur Russell's "Janine," and the Moody Blues' proto-prog "Question."

The tour begins March 25th with three "Album Shows" in NYC. On consecutive nights, Nada Surf will perform their three most recent albums: Let Go, The Weight Is A Gift, and Lucky in full, along with songs from if i had a hi-fi, fan favorites and b-sides. The band will then continue on to cover both the East and West coasts.

There is a Fan pre-sale for most US shows on Wednesday, January 6th at 10 am Local Time at http://nadasurf.musictoday.com

Nada Surf Tour Dates:

MARCH
25 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom ("Let Go")
26 - Brooklyn, NY - Bell House ("The Weight is a Gift")
27 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg ("Lucky")
29 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
30 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour
31 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street

APRIL
01 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
02 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
13 - London, UK - ICA
15 - France - Printemps de Bourges Festival
17 - France - Strasbourg Artefact Festival
18 - Utrecht, Holland - Tivoli De Helling
19 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
20 - Cologne, Germany - Gloria
21 - Lausanne, Switzerland - D! Club
23 - Zurich, Switzerland - Abart
24 - Vienna, Austria - WUK
25 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
26 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
27 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust
28 - Paris, France - Trabendo
29 - Madrid, Spain - Joy Eslava
30 - Murcia, Spain - Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 Festival

MAY
01 - Galicia, Spain - Villagarcia de arosa
15 - Longirod, Switzerland - Long'l'rock Festival
24 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
25 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
27 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

Nada Surf Official Site
Nada Surf @ MySpace