Once in danger of being relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, the
power pop outfit
Nada Surf soldiered onward after the success of 1996's "Popular," following up a brief residence on the Billboard charts with a slew of solidly crafted albums. Founders
Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Lorca (bass) were longtime school friends, having studied together at the Lycée Français de New York in upper Manhattan. After Lorca spent some time abroad in the late '80s, the two reunited after graduation to form Because Because Because in 1991. By 1993, they had jumped ship and shifted their focus to a new project,
Nada Surf, whose first two indie releases won the band a contract in Spain. They then recorded an LP for the European label, only to have their original drummer quit.
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Once in danger of being relegated to "one-hit wonder" status, the
power pop outfit
Nada Surf soldiered onward after the success of 1996's "Popular," following up a brief residence on the Billboard charts with a slew of solidly crafted albums. Founders
Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Lorca (bass) were longtime school friends, having studied together at the Lycée Français de New York in upper Manhattan. After Lorca spent some time abroad in the late '80s, the two reunited after graduation to form Because Because Because in 1991.
By 1993, they had jumped ship and shifted their focus to a new project,
Nada Surf, whose first two indie releases won the band a contract in Spain. They then recorded an LP for the European label, only to have their original drummer quit. Ira Elliot (formerly of
the Fuzztones) was brought aboard just as the group's European deal fell through, and the band's luck returned when their demo found its way to Ric Ocasek, who offered to produce additional sessions if
Nada Surf wished to re-record the material.
The trio soon signed to Elektra in 1995 and cut their debut LP,
High/Low, with Ocasek behind the boards. "Popular" became a surprise radio hit the following summer, and
Nada Surf found themselves lumped into the "nerd rock revival" camp alongside
Superdrag,
Cake, and
Weezer. This newfound popularity allowed
Nada Surf to release several tracks from their European demo as part of the Karmic EP, but it also proved to be a double-edged sword. When the band returned in 1998 with
The Proximity Effect, Elektra balked, claiming the album didn't have a "Popular"-sized single. The album was released in Europe before Elektra permanently dropped the band and shelved the record; it would take
Nada Surf a full two years to buy back the rights to their work.
The Proximity Effect finally entered U.S. record stores in 2000, when
Caws issued it on his own MarDev label, and
Nada Surf traveled the country to promote its release. After pooling together the funds of their merchandise sales, the bandmates then entered the studio to independently record a third album,
Let Go. Barsuk signed the group and released the album in 2002; three years later,
The Weight Is a Gift (produced by fellow labelmate Chris Walla of
Death Cab for Cutie) furthered the band's critical acclaim.
Nada Surf then returned in 2008 with
Lucky, which featured musical contributions from
Ben Gibbard,
Ed Harcourt, and members of both
Calexico and
Harvey Danger. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
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