Sunday 7 July 2013

NADA SURF

This post's artist is from the last track from the May 2013 Mix that has not been posted. This is track #18. The May 2013 Mix is now complete. Beginning tomorrow, July 8th, the June 2013 Mix will be reviewed.

Band: NADA SURF
Genres: Rock / Indie / Pop / Phenomenalness
Related artists: N/A.
Country: New York, USA
Years Active: 1992-present
Song: "Fruit Fly"
Album: "Let Go"
Year: 2002
For fans of: Harvey Danger, Elliot, Modern RiflesQueens of the Stone Age, Foo FightersRiddle of Steel, Jeff Buckley, John Vanderslice, Weezer, Rocky Votolato, An Horse, Down With The Butterfly, Mates of State, Manchester Orchestra, Sigur Ros,  Stephen Brodsky.

I remember a time when The Blood Brothers , Neil Perry and Botch were my favourite bands. In case you are unaware of what they sound like, I can sum them up pretty succinctly - heavy and screamy. NADA SURF is the exact opposite - and they quickly toppled all 3 bands that I mentioned above. It was a sudden and almost awkward realization after 10 years of being a 'heavy music' guy. If NADA SURF can convert me, imagine what they can do if you are primarily a 'rock music' fan.


Unfortunately, people generally associate NADA SURF as a one-hit wonder because of this:
 
NADA SURF - "Popular" (from 'High/Low' cd)

...and it's a shame because this song DOES NOT accurately represent the band or their sound. This was just a first, gimmicky single that ended up being very popular. (no ha, that was too easy) I was all over this back in 1996, as I thought they were like Weezer junior - and I believe 'Pinkerton' had just been released. Anyway, they kind of lost major label backing for their much better follow-up, 'The Proximity Effect' and kind of fell off the map for 4 years.


Luckily the band dropped a nearly flawless album in 2002 and haven't stopped releasing amazing records since. Following their first LP, NADA SURF developed, refined and then perfected the beautiful shoegaze indie-pop/ballad rock style that I love them for.


There isn't much need to say more. If you like rock music and want a quality band with great messages and consistently release fantastic records - I may have just introduced you to your new favourite band. I should mention that 2012's 'The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy' is probably their best album - with all 10 songs being collectively powerful, while still retaining some of the band's strongest songs to date - especially "The Moon Is Calling", "There's No Snow On The Mountain" and "When I Was Young".


Here's a list of the best songs on each proper album, if you want to youtube most of these songs you will be able to find most, if not all of them.

'High/Low' = Deeper Well, The Plan, Popular, Sleep, Stalemate, Treehouse and Zen Brain.

'Proximity Effect' = Hyperspace, Amateur, 80 Windows, Bacardi, Bad Best Friend, The Voices, Firecracker, Robot, Spooky and Silent Fighting.

'Let Go' = Blizzard of '77, Inside of Love, Fruit Fly, Blonde on Blonde, Killian's Red, The Way You Wear Your Head, Neither Heaven Nor Space, End Credits and No Quick Fix.

'The Weight is a Gift' = Do It Again, Always Love, What Is Your Secret?, Your Legs Grow, Blankest Year and In the Mirror.

'Lucky' = See These Bones, Whose Authority, Beautiful Beat, Weightless, Are You Lightning?, I Like What You Say and Ice On The Wing.

'The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy' = Clear Eye Clouded Mind, Waiting For Something, When I Was Young, Jules and Jim, The Moon Is Calling, Let The Fight Do The Fighting, No Snow On The Mountain and The Future.

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DISCOGRAPHY
There are 13 full release downloads at the bottom of this post for all of NADA SURF's out-of-print material, so you don't need to spend exorbitant amount on Ebay.
 
1996 - High/Low cdLP
 
1998 - The Proximity Effect cd (there's a version w/bonus tracks)
 
1999 - North 6th Street cd (out-of-print/demo/live compilation)
 
2002 - Let Go cd (there's a version w/bonus tracks)
 
2004 - Live in Brussels cd (take a wild guess, sheesh)
 
2005 - The Weight is a Gift cd (there's a version w/bonus tracks)
 
2008 - Lucky cd (there's a version w/bonus tracks)
2008 - Vinyl Box Set 1994-2008 (discography)
2008 - The Myspace Transmissions (live)
 
2010 - If I Had A Hi-Fi cd (covers album)
 
2011 - The Moon Is Calling 7" (demo for 2012 album) (PURCHASE HERE)
 
2012 - The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy cd
2012 - The Dulcitone Files cdep (acoustic versions from 2012 album)
 
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These are listed chronologically, so remember, the first link is the band's OLDER MATERIAL!!!
youtube )))))embedded official video / audio((((( links
***MP3s listed at the bottom***

(1996) NADA SURF - "Stalemate" (from 'High/Low' cd) AUDIO

(1998) NADA SURF - "80 Windows" (from 'The Proximity Effect' cd) AUDIO

(1998) NADA SURF - "Spooky" (from 'The Proximity Effect' sessions bonus cd) AUDIO
*this audio is repeats, this song should be 3:50, not over 8 minutes

(2002) NADA SURF - "The Way You Wear Your Head" (from 'Let Go' cd) MUSIC VIDEO

(2005) NADA SURF - "" (from 'The Weight Is A Gift' cd) AUDIO

(2008) NADA SURF - "See These Bones" (from 'Lucky' cd) LIVE

(2012) NADA SURF - "When I Was Young" (from 'The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy' cd) MUSIC VIDEO

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NADA SURF out-of-print / B-sides mp3 download
 I decided to include full downloads of the following out-of-print and unavailable releases:
 
 
Everything else you can buy from the band. So do it.

3 comments:

  1. One of the greatest bands EVER. Especially live!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm mystified by The Proximity Effect 7". Perhaps the bonus CD from France?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Any chance for a re-up on the out of print stuff? all the links seem to be dead. thanks

    ReplyDelete