Nada Surf // The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy

January 25th, 2012

Nada Surf are finally back with their sixth studio album, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. Their third record on City Slang Records following the successful The Weight is a Gift, Lucky and their self-released covers album, If I Had A HiFi.

Not in anyway intended to be an insult, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is a typical indie rock album from the New York trio. Nada Surf has always been such a good band because they have the distinctive sound which you recognise straight away: They’ve never ventured too far away from this in order to show off, and that familiarity keeps the listener comfortable.

For a band that’s been going for around fifteen years, you would think they would eventually run out of things to sing about, but this isn’t the case. Having some extra helping hands from the like of Doug Gillard (guided By Voices) and Martin Wenk, (Calexico) Nada Surf have given the record a fuller and more punchier sound. No song lags behind, or falters in the shadow of the track before. The album plays host to some really classic tracks, (like The Moon Is Calling which has to be one of the best) tracks with gorgeous lyrics. It has that happy film soundtrack sound which doesn’t fail to win the listener over.

There are also some cracking sing-a-long lyrics on The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. Jules and Jim has an anthemic chorus of “I am lost in my mind when you go to sleep”. No Snow On The Mountain has a fantastic opening verse: “There’s no snow on the mountain/There’s no river to cross/We’ve gone past it and counted/Now we’re drinking our dust.” Combine this with the simple drumming and background guitar riff and it’s just calling out to be performed live.

The only fault on the record is that a few of the songs have the same tempo, the same feel and a similar dynamic. Although their familiarity is a good thing, it wouldn’t hurt to slip in a few more tracks that are slower or even acoustic, for example: When I Was Young and Let The Fight Do The Fighting. Regardless, Nada Surf have definitely produced a solid and enjoyable album in The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy. It is well worth the listen, give it a chance and I’m sure you will be humming some of the tunes just as you did all those years ago with Always Love.

The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy is out now on City Slang Records.

Words > Katherine Bayly

Tags: City Slang Records, Jules and Jim, Nada Surf, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy