Nada Surf in Cleveland

Nada Surf

"Did you ever, as a kid, want to crawl into the speakers?" asks Nada Surf singer-guitarist Matthew Caws. "I did — here was OK, but there was much better." And that's pretty much what Nada Surf is all about — Caws, bassist Daniel Lorca, and drummer Ira Elliot are in love with the way rock music can transport you to a new and wonderful place in a beguiling rush of beats, chords, hooks and words. And they do it ten times over on their brilliant sixth album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy.

Before, Nada Surf albums simply took on the character of the songs that the band came up with at the time. This one was different — there was a plan. "We've always played faster and a little harder live," Caws says, "but we'd always play so carefully in the studio. So with this album, we made a conscious decision to preserve what it felt like in the practice room, when you play with that new-song energy. Just embrace it and not worry whether we’re overdoing it, kind of get all the thinking out of the way."

Sure enough, The Stars leaps out of the gate in a blaze of guitars, swarming distortion and a sweet melody riding atop "Clear Eye Clouded Mind." Throughout, the crackerjack rhythm section of Lorca and Elliot puts the power in Nada Surf's pop, Lorca playing equal parts pedestal and filigree, Elliot ever the stylish dynamo. The tempos are high, but the songs bristle with hooks, breathtaking changes, and Nada Surf's trademark genius bridges. The educated ear will hear the influence of many bands from '60s Brit-pop to post-punk and vintage indie, and yet there is an unmistakable Nada Surf sound: a certain rhythm section groove, introspective chord shapes and the unique emotional weight to Caws's voice, both boyish and very soulful, a combination of wisdom and vulnerability that can admit to being "moved to a tear by a subway breakdancer."

"I really love Nada Surf," author Jennifer Egan told Minnesota Public Radio this year, adding that she listened to the band's music for inspiration while writing her 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. "What they write about is very subtle moments of everyday life. They make it all look and feel very easy and natural."

Waters

The Album & Poster Art of Nada Surf
feat. KAYROCK & WOLFY

Friday, June 8th – 6pm until 10pm Free with a special guest performance. Gallery Wolfy Part II will display over ten years of the rock poster art and album art of Nada Surf.

The band has created an extensive catalog of high quality show posters and album art through their continued commitment to granting trust and freedom of thought and vision to the artists they choose to work with. One of the organizations they have supported many times at their own expense is KAYROCK SCREEN PRINTING INC. This small print and design shop was the home to designers and master printers, Wolfy and Karl LaRocca a.k.a. Kayrock. These artists have worked individually and collectively making intensily detailed and narrative tour posters, album art and even t-shirts for Nada Surf. The posters range in size and scope over the last two decades and culminated in the design of the band's 2009 box set and 2010 record ifihadahifi (see above)

GALLERY WOLFY PART II
June 8, 6 PM - 10 PM
2676 West 14th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Categories: Concerts & Tour Dates | Nightlife & Singles