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Moon Mirror, Nada Surf's new record, has everything fans love and expect from them. Bittersweet anthems that begin quietly but explode into soaring harmonies? Check. Songs that are play-on-repeat heart punches? Check. Songs that are poetic and thought-provoking while also being absolute belt-at-the-top-of-your-voice-with-the-windows-down masterpieces? Check. It's all here.
For the past 30 years, Nada Surf has had the same core lineup: Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, and Ira Elliot. Moon Mirror, their first for New West Records, was produced by the band and Ian Laughton at Rockfield Studios in Wales. For the recording, Matthew, Daniel, and Ira were joined by their friend and longtime keyboard player Louie Lino.
Moon Mirror is a thrilling and moving leap forward for Nada Surf. The songs on the album are true to the human experience--as meaningful and mysterious and sometimes absurd as it is. There's love, yes, but also grief, deep loneliness, doubt, wonder, and hope. These are not the songs of a band in their 20s. There is hard-won wisdom here, and hard-won belief in possibility--the kind that comes from falling down and getting back up.
"Give Me The Sun" ("I'm looking for something/ I can't say exactly what"), "Second Skin" ("I'm tired of living in this second skin/ I want to let everything in"), and "Moon Mirror"("connect me to something") grapple with being present and open, paying attention, and seeking connection in a world that feels alienating with its everything-all-at-once-ness. "In Front of Me Now" is a song against multi-tasking and sleepwalking through the one life we have. The song asks, "Why wasn't I present? I could have been living," and shows us a transformation in the chorus: "Today, I do what's in front of me now." I don't know about you, but I need this reminder as much as ever.
Nada Surf has been working together for decades, and they're consistently excellent, but they always surprise me. That's what great art does. For nearly 30 years, Nada Surf has been a part of the soundtrack of my life. Our lives. I fell hard for the band over Let Go in 2002, and following that, The Weight Is a Gift, in 2005. Those songs are lodged in my body, someplace they'll never be extracted from. So are songs from The Proximity Effect, Lucky, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, and Never Not Together, which was my favorite record of 2020. Moon Mirror will take its place among the others, in heavy rotation.
Four years ago, during lockdown, I was listening to Nada Surf one morning. My son, then seven years old, was quiet, and then he said, "They sing a lot about love."
What he said next has stuck with me: "It protects you."
Love protects you. If you need convincing, I think Moon Mirror will do just that. Lucky, lucky us to have had Nada Surf's music with us for all of these years, and lucky, lucky us to have these new songs now, right when we need them most.
Encore
Let go songs were played great. Many interesting anecdotes. Matt makes it seem like your visiting a friend. Second set was surprising for seeing many songs in the set that have rarely been done live. They played 31 songs and played almost 3 hours. They are always dependable to put on a great show with excellent music and a friendly atmosphere
Great lineup on paper, but the performances were mediocre overall. The Sheila Divine completely stole the show.
A terrific show for a important cause. We loved the energy in the room. Juliana Hatfield singing Bad Moon Rising with Matthew Caws was a highlight for me.
A totally unforgettable evening. Julianna rocked and Belly was fantastic. Evan, Nada Surf, The Sheila Divine, Gravity all sounded awesome.
They're still at the top of their game and rock better than ever!
I've never seen them before, so I don't know if this was par for the course or just extra awesome end of tour blowout vibes, but this was an AMAZING show. so much energy!
This band just goes from strength to strength, releasing a great album every few years and backing it up with an extraordinary show. The L.A. performance highlighted much of their back catalogue, but leaned particularly heavy on the new album "You Know Who You Are," which may be their best record to date. A great show, bolstered by the addition of Doug Gillard (Death of Samantha, Guided by Voices) on guitar. Ira Elliot continues to be one of the best drummers working today, anchoring the set with steady and understated work, but bringing the big beats when the moment calls for them. And Matthew Caws was in fine voice, as usual, and a wonderfully easygoing presence onstage, bonding with the audience like a friend.
A small venue with great acoustics made for a brilliant show from a great band!
Excellent show. Audio and acoustics were stellar and a very great atmosphere and crowd! Definitely will be going back again.
Great night, we just love this venue. Nanda rocked it , always a good vibe and feel. They just keep growing as a band and performers.
The band members of Nada Surf are all masters at playing their parts of every song- they play flawlessly but i suppose i dont care for them as much as I thought or perhaps the setlist could have been better. My main complaint is that the set list was too short and i wanted to stay longer to hear more songs. Overall it was disappointing for me. I wanted more but i am a harsh critic....
This was my third time seeing these guys and they keep upstaging their last performance… They keep getting better and better. This show was at the rough trade record store and they made this small venue feel like an arena. They played songs off most of their discography and that night they played some hidden gems like ''end credits'', ''from the roof top'' ''No quick fix'' and ''everyone's on tour''. they engaged the crowd pretty well and had everyone either dancing or singing along. can't wait to see them when their in town again…if you haven't seen them, go…they will amaze you!!!
1st rate show! Great sound, amazing energy, highly recommend!
This is my second time seeing Nada Surf in NYC. First time was in Brooklyn when they were touring to promote Stars are Indifferent. When I saw them for the first time I would say I was just a fan who owned and really liked their last three albums. However, after seeing them live for the first time I was blown away at how energetic and amazing they sound live. I also heard many gems of theirs that I had not heard before. Needless to say, after that concert I downloaded all of their albums and my life has been changed forever. When I found out they were back in town, I just had to see them again. I admit I was a bit skeptical that they would be able to replicate the magic of the first time. Boy was I wrong! It was even more memorable the second time around! Truly amazing band!
NS could not have been better--two plus hours of tight, rockin' music. Can't wait to see them next year.
Excellent show. The Bowery Ballroom is a great venue and they don't overbook so even though it was sold out, it was still enjoyable and there was room to move around. Nada Surf was, as always, amazing. They sounded better than they do on their albums and they played a really long show... of course it's never long enough because I want to hear every song!
The gig was awesome, the guys were in super mood, they played for two and a half hours non stop. They covered quite an extensive part of their discography, going back even to their first two alboums, which are my personal favourite.
Nada Surf always puts on a great show! And the Bowery Ballroom is a great venue!
It is like finding a bottle of wine for $10 that tastes like one that costs $100!
Fantastic show. the venue was awesome and small. You could hear/understand all of the lyrics and you were very close to the stage. I love this band and they were absolutely amazing
