Totally Tele

“THE FIRST SOLO WAS PLAYED THROUGH A YAMAHA FIVE-WATT SOLID-STATE AMP ON MY DESK AT HOME. WHY NOT?”

THROUGHOUT THEIR 28-YEAR, nine-album career, Nada Surf have often been labeled power pop, but that simple, slightly sugary appellation belies the depths that a close listening to the band’s music can reveal. Just as form follows function, the more layered and evocative the lyrical themes espoused by singer, guitarist and songwriter Matthew Caws, the more atmospheric the arrangements and production.

There are depths aplenty on the band’s latest full-length release, (Barsuk/City Slang Records), on which Caws explores themes of humankind’s interconnectedness and the challenge of peering inward to find a path outward. These foundations provide plenty