Nada Surf

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

This review originally ran in AP 283.

Nada Surf’s blend of melancholy, anxiety and child-like optimism is fully intact on their first collection of original material in four years. However, the Brooklyn band haven’t sounded this relaxed since 2005’s The Weight Is A Gift and as a result, the music on The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is much closer to their freewheeling live shows. Thanks to grungy guitars raging in the background, “Clear Eye Clouded Mind” thrashes like ’80s bar-band legends the Replacements, while the pogo-pop highlight “Looking Through” and messy power-pop gem “The Future” crackle with energy. Astronomy’s gentler moments are just as mesmerizing, particularly “When I Was Young”; the song evolves from an acoustic ballad driven by vocalist/guitarist Matthew Caws’ delicate, confessional tone into a lush rock song bursting with orchestral swells and a mighty guitar solo.

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“The Future”