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J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
If you crave constant flux, if you can’t stand it when a musician or band sticks with a formula for more than just one album, if you’re only happy when bands are being adventurous, exploratory, breaking new ground and taking risks; then Lucky might not be for you. But, if you’re content to be overcome by buckets and buckets of blinding harmonies and several wide smiles worth of hooky indie rock, then look no further. If too much pop sugar makes you gag and songs with repetitive choruses give you the shakes, then you're looking in the wrong place. But if this is you, what are you doing listening to Nada Surf anyway? Don’t say that you heard “Popular” and thought, “How innovative. I wonder what they’re going to come up with next.”
That being said, Nada Surf – Matthew Caws, Ira Elliot, Daniel Lorca – do bring a little something extra on this fifth studio effort in the form of some light string sounds and horns. The album is mainly built sturdy with on framework of catchy choruses that hit you where you live in a way very similar to 2005's The Weight is A Gift. There are several singles that could stand tall right beside “Always Love.” One of the best aspects of Lucky is that for better or worse it doesn’t seem forced. They made the music that came natural with no intentional under-production or being edgy for the sake of being edgy that’s so common in the indie music scene these days.
“See These Bones” is densely packed with twinkling guitars, some very atmospheric string hums, and a little vocal help for Caws and the guys care of Harvey Danger’s Sean Nelson and Ben Gibbard, adding yet another highly addictive chemical to their pop. Then, the layered voices pile up and fade out. The extra personnel on “Ice On The Wing” like John Roderick on loan from The Long Winters adds to the crisp, high, glimmering tones to a chorus of “Baby, ice is growing on the wing,” which is repeated so much that it will either make you too sick to hear it again or have you humming it on repeat. The track is made complete with horns blasting in an outro featuring Calexico’s Martin Wenk.
While there may be no “Blizzard of ‘77" on the album, it’s not without an acoustic presence. “Here Goes Something” is a slow, chiming strummer with some tambourine and a lazy folk tone. After the first few listens the album seems to be more of the same, which is a good thing here. Why deviate from a formula that has proved strong in the past? After hearing the record, your mind is prepped for some puppy love, summer day dreams and midnight walks through the park with your high school sweet heart.
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I love Nada Surf. I think, probably, they had one great idea a couple decades ago, and they've been developing derivations of that theme ever since. Which, really, isn't so bad. Event their ho-hummish efforts make other bands look dishonest.