Following on from the intense disappointment of not being able to go and see Nada Surf live last night, owing to a mass outbreak of heavy colds in the family, coupled with the dismal weather and disrupted rail services because of the wonderfully named Storm Bert - I decided it was time to post my overdue review of their latest album, Moon Mirror.
For a minute, I thought this might be something of a melancholic experience, making me reflect on my disappointment of missing out last night, but a few minutes in to re-listening to the album I remembered exactly why I had been so eager to go.
Moon Mirror came out in September, their first on New West Records and their first album in four years, and was recorded in the iconic Rockfield Studios in rural Wales.
There is much on here that you might expect, if you have listened to any of the other nine studio albums Nada Surf have put out over the last 25 years - but also a few changes to the sound and the dynamic at times.
It opens with the upbeat Second Skin, flowing into a chorus of chiming guitars backed by Ira Elliot's always crisp drumming and Daniel Lorca's insistent bass line. Lead off single, In Front Of Me Now, sees singer-songwriter-guitarist Matthew Caws seeking to learn from the past and live in the present. It opens with one his distinctive arpeggios, before ramming straight into urgently delivered verses, broken up (somewhat counter-intuitively) with more mellower choruses.
Second Skin (Official music video)
In Front Of Me Now (Official music video)
The title track is a plaintive tune about connections ("connect me to something"), with the piano notes of the middle eight floating out on "highways of hope". Losing opens with some distorted guitar wails, that almost hint at My Bloody Valentine, as they ebb in and out. There is a sad undercurrent here, the one dimensional steady beat leads to a sense of disconnection, with Caws' vocals delivered with a hint of despair, all backed by a lush wall of synths. "I have lost all there is / I have lost what never was / I'm losing - losing time / I'm losing what I could find."
Intel And Dreams is a punchy, hooky, pop-punk song, propelled by a walloping double beat and some thrashy power chords. It is a high paced number, although the little slap of drums in the linking sections breaks it up with an element of discord, before it powers away again. A shuffling drum pattern kicks off The One You Want, with rising guitar notes building, before it settles into something of a mellow groove. The verse is anchored by some simple keyboard notes, but the chorus almost then sounds demanding, as Caws raises his voice while the music never changes in pace or volume. There is an orchestral sweep through the middle, as it dives into the "Wake up, wake up" refrain.
Intel & Dreams (Live in Manchester - not greatest quality, but enough to show off the banging drums and guitars)
New Propellor features quietly strummed chords, a little piano and some quivering vocals. The drums eventually come in, but Elliot delivers them in a way that leaves plenty of space, before the song swells with some lovely harmonies. Open Seas reminds me of the Nada Surf of old, with oodles of punchy chords and Caws singing on top form, as they sit so well on the incessant fuzz of his low-key alt-rock guitar work.
New Propellor (Official music video)
We're heading towards the home straight, but there is no let up. There is some big piano at the start of X Is You, perhaps a hint of Ben Folds? There are some big chunks of guitar in here as well, and Elliot, as ever, knows how to add just the right amount of flourish. Give Me The Sun brings Lorca's driving bass back to the fore, and they create a haze of sound, maybe conjuring up a reflective or yearning mood. It closes with the moody Floater. An eerie track with slow arpeggio, the steady click of the cymbal and an interesting bass pattern, again leaving space behind the vocals as it settles into a pastoral rhythm driven by an acoustic guitar and the crack of the snare. It leads to the only bit on the album that leaves me unsure - the refrain of "Floater" somehow seems at odds with the music (and that's not just the immature schoolboy in me saying that). Even the ethereal wafts of psych guitar can't quite cleanse my palette.
Overall though, this record is something of a triumph. As Rob Sheffield noted in Rolling Stone, it is their "most musically and emotionally passionate album in years." While Chris Griffy writing in No Depression concluded, "Moon Mirror may come as a surprise to longtime fans of the group. It's certainly a leap into uncharted territory for a band whose sound has remained relatively consistent throughout their thirty years. But the changes suit Nada Surf and the result is one of the best albums of their long career."
Track Listing:
Second Skin
In Front Of Me Now
Moon Mirror
Losing
Intel & Dreams
The One You Want
New Propellor
Open Seas
X Is You
Give Me The Sun
Floater
Notes:
Produced by Nada Surf and Ian Laughton
Released on 13 September 2024
Featuring: Matthew Caws, Ira Elliot, Daniel Lorca, Louis Lino
Score:
No need to reflect much, a triumphant - 8.2 / 10
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