Nada Surf

Black Cat

Nada Surf appearing LIVE at Black Cat in Washington, DC

<h2>With their ninth studio album, Nada Surf—Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Ira Elliot, and their longtime
</h2><h2>friend and collaborator Louie Lino—continue pursuing their humanistic vision of the world through
</h2><h2>hooky, catchy rock songs with sharply drawn, yet tenderly felt lyrics. Never Not Together, out on TK
</h2><h2>DATE, is a wide-ranging collection of songs that revel in the group's ability to evoke and reflect grand
</h2><h2>and intricately wrought emotions, whether through sweeping guitar solos or hushed-whisper vocals.
</h2><h2>"Empathy is good, lack of empathy is bad, holy math says we're never not together," Caws declares at the
</h2><h2>end of "Something I Should Do," a crashing powerpop track with an insistent melody that adds urgency
</h2><h2>to his thoughts about 21st-century life. The concept of "holy math" which informs that line—and the
</h2><h2>album's title—was inspired by a Justin Vernon appearance on the Song Exploder podcast, where the Bon
</h2><h2>Iver leader talked about the interconnectedness of humans. "We're all together, and that's just the way it
</h2><h2>is, and the way it always will be," says Caws. "That's the sacred truth of it."
</h2><h2>That idea of being linked and searching for connection is a common theme of the album's lyrics, which
</h2><h2>depict people hunting down answers by peering within and reaching outward. "Looking For You," which
</h2><h2>opens with a spectral choir and blossoms into a rock spectacle with crashing strings and two guitar
</h2><h2>solos—one played by Caws, the other by frequent Nada Surf collaborator Doug Gillard—seeks solace in
</h2><h2>doctor's visits and grand metaphors. "So Much Love," which Caws wrote as part of Hits president Karen
</h2><h2>Glauber's annual SXSW session, is a driving, yet kind-hearted reminder that love and connection are in
</h2><h2>the air—even if, in the immediate, it's lurking in the mists of one's sent-messages mailbox. "Mathilda,"
</h2><h2>meanwhile, shifts time signatures as it switches perspectives on a childhood spent apart from the crowd,
</h2><h2>mulling over what "masculinity" meant even at a young age.
</h2><h2>Youth is also a topic on "Just Wait," a shimmering midtempo song tethered to earth by a fluid bassline. "I
</h2><h2>wrote 'Just Wait' on a writing trip to Nashville," recalls Caws. During a session with songwriter Gavin
</h2><h2>Slate, the two got to talking about the current state of youth culture. "I remember how being an
</h2><h2>adolescent was so scary—just as it would be for everybody," he says. "You're starting to feel like an
</h2><h2>adult, but you kind of don't want to be; you're kind of not ready, but you kind of can't wait. It's that kind
</h2><h2>of fright-delight, like September at school." The end result is empathic and warm, its chiming guitars and
</h2><h2>background "ooh-oohs" offering a refuge from the pressure to keep up appearances in "love and work
</h2><h2>and where you live," as Caws sings on the song's bridge.
</h2><h2>In 2017, Nada Surf celebrated the 15th anniversary of their 2002 breakthrough Let Go, an experience
</h2><h2>that energized the early planning of Never Not Together. "I made pretty elaborate demos for the
</h2><h2>songs—something I've never done before," says Caws. "I think [the Let Go tour] really boosted my work
</h2><h2>ethic and made me feel like I really had to go for it."
</h2><h2>Never Not Together was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, where artists like Echo &amp; the Bunnymen,
</h2><h2>the Flamin' Groovies, Iggy Pop and Oasis recorded albums. "I've been seeing the name on albums for so
</h2><h2>long," says Caws. "It's a working farm, and the founder/owner, Kingsley Ward, would come in and tell us
</h2><h2>stories when he wasn't farming. I'd walk into town every morning and listen to the sheep talking as I
</h2><h2>walked by them."
</h2><h2>That openness to listening—to their fans, to each other, to the world—has helped inform Nada Surf's
</h2><h2>legacy as down-to-earth rock stars—musicians who can command festival stages around the world
</h2><h2>while connecting to audience members on a personal level, conscious of the shared humanity every step
</h2><h2>of the way.</h2>

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Nada Surf

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