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| Sputnikmusic. |
 It’s a bit counterintuitive, but early 40-somethings Nada Surf seem to be growing less and less jaded and cynical as the years wind by. They were big once, properly alternative-rock-radio big with 1996’s snarky hit “Popular,” and the only place it got them was the one-hit wonder section in your local FYE’s bargain bin. That is so often the problem with novelty hits, which the spoken-word, eminently contemptuous “Popular” obviously was, and Nada Surf have since made a career out of being the most earnest band in indie. In the hands of another group a painfully wide-eyed title like The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy would likely be the setup to a contradictory punch line – under the direction of the same band who named a song “Always Love” without a hint of artifice, it’s just another example of the kind of unfeigned sincerity these aging optimists do so well. For most of The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy, Nada Surf are a blur of high-energy power chords and a hard-charging rhythm section in bassist Daniel Lorca and drummer Ira Elliot that plays in a remarkable lockstep with each other. Aside from first single “When I Was Young,” which slows things down to focus on predictably cringe-inducing lyrical nostalgia, everything is tight and focused, polished clean and dashed with a healthy bit of punk-influenced crunch courtesy of producer Chris Shaw. Vocalist Matthew Caws still has that flawless alto that gives his vocals an eternally youthful vigor, and Shaw’s work in focusing the mix on his inimitable voice while maintaining a strong focus on the power of Caws’ guitar gives The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy a pleasantly gutsy live feel. It’s the right call for an album that is filled to the brim with enthusiastic statements like “it’s never too late for teenage dreams” and other assorted feel-good credos. Caws may be approaching middle age, but he has rarely sounded as conflicted and/or hopelessly romantic as he does here, one minute lamenting the expectations of youth on “When I Was Young” and the next sounding utterly pleased at the results on “Teenage Dreams” – “sometimes I ask the wrong questions, but I get the right answers.” It’s par for the course for Caws, who has made a career out of that ageless yelp and a decision to not worry too much about what he’s saying, instead focusing on how he says it. Caws’ energy is infectious – it’s impossible not to sing along with the sweet clichés he leaves hovering over raucous tunes like “Clear Eye Clouded Mind” or “No Snow on the Mountain.” Even when he’s wallowing in sap, you still get the feeling that he honestly just wants to let you know how he’s feeling, as directly and artlessly as possible. For all of “When I Was Young’s” oppressive sentimentality and cloying acoustic vibe, when Caws sings, “when I was young, I didn’t know if I was better off asleep or up / now I’ve grown up, I wonder what was that world I was dreaming of,” his frankness is enough to tug at the heartstrings of even the most jaded 9-to-5ers. Caws’ shock at the end of the album that he “can’t believe the future’s happening to me” is another likely touchstone for Nada Surf fans, particularly those who have stuck with the band for the long haul and are likely approaching that age where “Popular” is as anachronistic to them as the rest of those cloudy teenage years. Luckily for them, Nada Surf is proof that growing old doesn’t have to be full of regrets and missed opportunities – if their career arc proves anything, it’s that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. They have kept going largely on an indefatigable attitude and a firm grasp of the finer points of the three-minute pop song, and few bands can regularly write the kind of hooks that The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy builds itself around. Improbable but true; as these ten mostly filler-free tracks prove, Nada Surf only look to be growing more confident in their old age....full text |
| Pastemagazine |
| Nada Surf have managed to squeeze in several lives over the course of almost two decades together. They’ve been called one-hit wonders, sophomore slumpers, dead-and-goners, and have emerged relatively unscathed to find themselves in the year 2012. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that guitarist-vocalist Matthew Caws knows his way around a pop hook or two. And while Nada Surf’s 1996 debut LP High/Low fit perfectly with the times, and their single “Popular” essentially became a parody of the self-loathing ’90s, the New York trio more than made up for it with the pristine pop found on later releases, most notably 2005’s near-perfect The Weight Is a Gift. The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy may be a mouthful to say, but the contents within are straight to the point—10 songs, no filler, that won’t necessarily knock you out of your seat, but rather leave you wanting to lean back and stay a while. That’s not to say the album lacks energy. Opener “Clear Eye Clouded Mind” sets the pace with furious guitar strums and ratatat drumming, while Caws’ vocals hover sweetly above. In fact, with the exception of lead single “When I Was Young” and “Let the Fight Do the Fighting,” Stars cruises along with an immediacy that’s been missing from the last two Nada Surf records. And of course Stars is dripping with sentimentality. “Teenage Dreams” is the highlight here as Caws continues his tradition of love it-or-hate it turns of phrase as he waxes about being moved to tears by a subway breakdancer: “Sometimes I ask the wrong questions, but I get the right answers.”...full text |
| Noripcord |
| I don’t think many will disagree that Nada Surf are not the most elegant musically or eloquent lyrically. It would be worse to argue that they’ve been progressively thought-provoking or original. The usual protocol for a Nada Surf album has been determining the ratio of hits and misses. There’s probably no greater example of this jagged track list than 2002’s Let Go, and album that at once contains some really good songs (opener Blizzard of ’77 is still a favorite) and some throwaways (um … La Pour Ca?). With Let Go and the 2005 album The Weight is a Gift, Nada Surf seemed to be trying to reinvent a band that was embarrassed of its roots while trying to measure up to the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and Built to Spill. Unable to match Ben Gibbard’s ability to turn inanimate objects into testimonials of the human condition (I mean, really, who would have thought of the glove compartment?), Matthew Caws’ lyrics have always been a little clumsy and lightweight. The band behind him wasn’t much better, often trailing off in the uninspired lands of indie mediocrity. Nada Surf’s 2008 album, Lucky, was a step towards something memorable. Not only did the production make the overall sound tighter, but it sounded like the band had actually taken time to arrange the music, and Caws sounded more confident than ever. If anything, Nada Surf have taken the initiative that made Lucky so successful and followed it to create the energetic peaks of The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (first impression: the best-named Nada Surf album). The vocal hooks and catchy choruses that have brought Nada Surf this far have only gotten better, and for once, it sounds as if Caws has become content with the sound of his voice. In terms of melody, Stars is an album of finely-crafted indie rock songs. Opener Clear Eye Clouded Mind will surely take any Nada Surf fan by surprise with just how energized the band sound under Caws, whose delivery has never been better. This pulse is shared throughout the album, specifically on Teenage Dreams, The Moon is Calling, and Waiting for Something. These moments of buzzing guitars and strong melodic hooks are spaced with ballads that have come a long way since the so-simple-it’s-good Inside of Love. Jules and Jim and Let the Fight do the Fighting have a refreshing mix of youthful nostalgia and mature introspection, while the standout song, When I Was Young, is a bit like Nada Surf’s Dust in the Wind. ...full text |
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