Albums I Love #3: Let Go

Nada Surf's 3rd Album

I saw Nada Surf for the first time this past Thursday night. After planning to see them in 2020 and being unable to, I didn’t want to miss them this time around, so I made a school night trip up to Thalia Hall in Chicago. It was well worth getting home just after midnight and being a tired teacher the next day (at least it was our last day before fall break). The band played 21 songs - 6 from their excellent new album, Moon Mirror (which I wrote about here), and 7(!) from Let Go.

I knew of Nada Surf before Let Go was released in the U.S. in early 2003, as most people did, from their MTV hit, “Popular” back in 1996. I remember liking the song well enough, but it seemed like such a novelty song/one-hit wonder that I never investigated further. I was convinced to buy Let Go without hearing a note from a review (probably in Entertainment Weekly). The review did its job, because the album only left my car CD player to go into my portable CD player and vice versa. It also made me an instant fan of the band and I’ve bought every album since upon release.

Blizzard of ‘77 - This was the final song of the encore last week. The band came to the front of the stage and lead singer Matthew Caws just had an unamplified acoustic. The crowd pressed in and we sang this song together. The confluence of all the voices and the final lines of “I miss you more than I knew” really hit me and I had tears. What a way to close out the night.

Happy Kid - This kicks off with fuzzier guitars and these opening lines - “I’m just a happy kid/Stuck with the heart of a sad punk/Drowning in my id” and just keeps going from there. It’s a perfect pop rock song and the juxtaposition with “Blizzard of ‘77” lets you know the album has legs.

Inside of Love - This song is shimmery and pulsating and Caws’ voice sounds so good on the chorus while the guitars throw in a discordant note underneath. It’s impossible to not sing along.

Fruit Fly - This is a song in 2 parts. This first is an acoustic tune about fruit flies in the kitchen due to poor cleaning. The second part kicks in around 1:30, where the guitars crank up and the drums start pounding. The songs just builds from there, ending in a glorious noise.

Blonde on Blonde - I would imagine that most music fans like songs about other songs and this is a good one. Caws sings “I’ve got Blonde on Blonde/on my portable stereo/It’s a lullaby/from a giant golden radio” and the music conveys that lullaby feel, bringing back that shimmery pulse.

Hi-Speed Soul - This cranks the guitars back up and adds some synth overtop the driving beat and chugging bass. The chorus actually has a bit of a dance feel. I like how the vocals play against the music, almost like Caws is singing at the wrong speed. The song ends in an extended outro and Daniel Lorca’s bass really comes to the fore.

Killian’s Red - Speaking of Lorca, this song comes on strong due to the bass working in tandem with Ira Elliott’s alternating kickdrum and steady stick clicks and cranks up the moodiness. When Caws gets to the chorus, his voice goes high and riding underneath is some steady acoustic rhythm guitar and plenty of ride cymbal, adding a dreamy touch to the music. Again, the music swells to the end, perfectly leading into…

The Way You Wear Your Head - Another rock song with those fuzzy guitars and how can you resist these lines - “I want to want you/I need to need you/I’m begging to beg you?” Also hard to resist are those drum fills Elliott starts using around the 2:00 mark, which never repeat as the song finishes.

Neither Heaven Nor Space - This ballad is a bit of a palate cleanser. It’s not bad by any means, because they don’t write bad songs and listening to Caws’ tenor is always worthwhile. I happily sing along, but wouldn’t suggest this be anyone’s introduction to the band.

La Pour Ca - Yes, this one is sung in French. When I run the lyrics through a translator, it seems to be referring to water as a metaphor, which certainly fits with the remaining songs on the album. Oh, and there’s some cool bent guitar at the end.

Treading Water - We get alternating up-tempo sections and dreamier sections, which are both very appealing. However, Caws really cranks up the guitars in the bridge with a little solo thrown in there. A great example of how the band plays with dynamics throughout the album (and their career too).

Paper Boats - The album ends with this lovely atmospheric tune, which stretches past the 6:30 mark. My favorite part is the bridge, where Caws harmonizes with himself with the acoustic guitar underneath and he sings this - “As the express train passes the local/It moves by just like a paper boat/Although it weighs a million pounds/I swear it almost seems to float/And as we pass by each other/Our heads all full of bother/We can’t look, we can’t stop/We can’t think, we can’t stop/Cause we’re stuck on our own paths…” Gets me every time. If you make it this far, I suspect you’ll be hooked and want to hear everything again and again. I’ve certainly been kept on the line for more than 20 years.