Nada Surf have been an indie staple for twenty years now since they burst on to the scene with High/Low. However, one of the major criticisms of their latest offering The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronony is that there hasn’t really been a sense of musical progression since that debut. Whilst I can understand that that may be a frustration for long term fans of the band, for casual listeners it’s really not a problem as long as the collection of songs is a strong one and, fortunately for us, it is. This, their 7th studio album, is their first collection of original songs since 2008′s Lucky and, despite its early release date, is a real summery album.
The supposed lack of musical progression may help to explain why it felt like I was being transported back to the ’90′s as soon as the opening chords of ‘Clear Eye Clouded Mind’ kicked in. I think that Matthew Caws high vocals are also suited to that period and style of music, like an early Ash. Nevertheless the opening trio of songs are all crackers, the breakdown in the middle of ‘Waiting for Something’ where the music fades before building to a strident falsetto vocal is worthy of particular mention, as is the epic building of bass and drums in the centre of ‘When I Was Young’. The next few tracks are just solid indie pop that you could conceivably find on any of those high school comedy soundtracks like American Pie but they’re all songs that you find yourself tapping away to even if they’re not setting the world alight.
That’s the strange thing about The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. Though Nada Surf aren’t covering any new ground or putting out anything particularly original, every song just has a joyous, infectious quality that gets under your skin and makes you want to stick it in the car, turn the volume to maximum and go on a long drive. The lyrical themes about lost youth and growing older do show a growing maturity to a band now in their fourties so do I care that they may not have progressed much musically? With an album this good, not really.
