The Nashville Feed

(Guest post today from our new friend Bill Melville. He hopefully will be posting often on the Nashville Feed, you can read more of his posts at dont-call-me-ishmael.blogspot.com - mdave)

Admit it, you only know Nada Surf as mid-1990s one-hit-wonders who rode a catchy music video to momentary stardom.

If not, you’ve probably known the band since their 21st century revival as a tight indie trio that straddles the maudlin and the hopeful in almost every song.

There's no way to measure how those two groups split in the Exit/In crowd Tuesday night, but Nada Surf looked forward and ignored the mocking calls for “Popular,” their infamous hit from a decade ago.
For as uncomfortable as their songs sometimes feel - Matthew Caws’ voice occasionally echoes like a forerunner to every emo frontman ever - they cut through it with tightness as a band. The three members leave no space unfilled, and aside from some limited bland banter, let up as little as the October rain pounding outside.
With a setlist divided among its past two records and sprinkled with tracks from its upcoming one, the barely paused as the tempos bounced between punky anthems and slower tunes that went from mellow to anguished. In a day where some bands have the balls to trot out the same setlist every night, Nada Surf didn’t play like a band on autopilot - at one point, Caws told the crowd their setlist named a slow song, but they were going with another loud one instead.

The Caws-only “Blizzard of 77,” which opens comeback album Let Go, has become almost a signature song, along with a handful of others – “Inside of Love,” “Blond on Blonde” and “Fruit Fly.” The new songs never fingered a new stylistic direction, but fit with the palette laid out on Surf’s newer records.
Although a band not known for revisiting the past, Nada Surf tackled two songs on the rarely spun sophomore effort Proximity Effect; the compact heaviness of “Hyperspace” was somewhat unexpected, but meshed with the progression evident in the trio.

Going for a four-song encore ended on the right tone. Further and further from “Popular,” Nada Surf’s incisive songwriting and live interplay

As for opener Sea Wolf, think Jeff Tweedy’s little front a less-prog/rock version of The Decemberists. They easily beat the “Get off the stage” vibe nurtured by most opening acts, even when their keyboardist intruded on some of earthier tunes with some overbearing synth racket that washed away the cello and acoustic guitar. She atoned with some nice piano fills on the sparser songs. But the group showed promise, with its catchy, myspace-ready single “You’re a Wolf” topping off a moody yet energetic set.

Further Reading:

• Nada Surf Official Website

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