Monday, January 18, 2010

Nada Surf's majestic power pop comes to Pearl Street on 3/31. New palindromic covers album can only be had at their shows for now.

Nada Surf play the Pearl Street Ballroom on Wednesday, March 31st (tickets here) with their new covers album in hand. On if i had a hi-fi their trademark harmony and musical craftsmanship is applied to 12 of their favorite songs from such artists as Kate Bush, Dwight Twilley and the Go-Betweens. They're particularly proud of the title, which is both a callback to the musical platform of their youth and a palindrome. Fans who attend shows during the spring tour will be able to get their hands on the record before it’s in stores, offering true believers the opportunity for a double-first: hearing the songs for the first time and being able to take them home.

Although a great deal of thought went into the song selections, the band’s intent is not to make an overarching musical statement. Singer-guitarist Matthew Caws says, “We really just wanted to do it organically, whatever we felt like covering in the moment, rather than trying to sum up our influences or something. It’s whatever we were excited about in the months before making it. And I think we got to everything we wanted to.” The result is both inspired and casual, like a conversation with a friend who shares your taste but also pushes your musical boundaries. A vintage Moody Blues tune, the proto-prog tempo-shifting “Question,” shares space with The Soft Pack’s blissfully rudimentary “Bright Side,” Depeche Mode’s grand “Enjoy the Silence,” and experimental music icon Arthur Russell’s terse but sweet “Janine.”

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