NADA SURF
‘SO MUCH LOVE’ TO OFFER IN 2020

For anyone old enough to remember “Popular”, the summer anthem of 1996, by NYC’s Nada Surf, you may have pegged the band as a potential one-hit wonder. And while the band never really experienced the same level of commercial success again, just like The Flaming Lips with its joke song “She Don’t Use Jelly”, it morphed into a serious and respectable band that has released quality record after quality record for years.

Nearly 30 years after first forming, Nada Surf, singer/guitarist Matthews Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca and drummer Ira Elliot, are still recording and touring. Currently in the midst of its winter tour, including two recent sold out shows at The Troubadour, the band is in support of its latest offering Never Not Together, an uplifting record featuring the catchy anthem “So Much Love” which sounds as contemporary as ever.

“It’s a song that celebrates good will between people,” singer Matthew Caws explains. “Sometimes it can be hard to remember that it’s there. But it’s all around us. Small things add up. A little tolerance and acceptance can be built on. We’re good at love and being kind. It comes naturally to us, but so do other things. You just have to keep looking for the right way to lean, it’s worth everything.”

Personally, as a fan, I’ll take the beauty and complexity of songs like “Inside of Love” and “Blonde on Blonde” and “If You Leave” ‘and “Always Love” over the quirkiness of a hit song like “Popular” (even though it has well over 15,000,000 plays on Spotify alone). The band doesn’t even play “Popular” in concert anymore and that’s fine by its fans.

“Over the moon” is how Caws describes the release of Never Not Together. And at 52, Matthew Caws is penning heartfelt songs punctuated by his ever spot-on and beautiful vocals that manage to compel and resonate.

At a time when collusion and impeachment divide many, Nada Surf is finding the beauty around them with ‘so much love’ to offer.