New Yorkers Nada Surf have returned after a four-year break with their 8th album. The addition of fourth member Doug Gillard on second guitar has filled out the band’s sound and You Know Where You Are finds them in infectiously melodic mode, turning in a seemingly effortlessly catchy set of songs which flies by in what seems like much less than its 41-minute running time.
Nada Surf could now realistically be called veterans of the American ‘alternative’ sound, (they have been around since the early 1990’s), and aside from being separated by a few thousand miles, they have much in common with Teenage Fanclub in not feeling the need to change their sound for the sake of it and instead putting all their efforts into writing great songs with fantastic lyrics, and throwing out albums when they fancy it to an adoring and loyal fan base.
And, oh, those lyrics – the heartbreaking highlight ‘Friend Hospital’ features the genius line “So much better that we’re not together/’Cause I will not lose you.” It is one of those situations where you almost kick yourself for not coming up with it yourself, so simple yet profound is the statement. ‘Out Of The Dark’, a few songs later, is an ostensibly sunny song, featuring glorious harmonies and even a brass section, that nevertheless begins with the bleak lyrics “Nothing happens for a reason/Nothing is meant to be.” The juxtaposition of ‘happy music/sad words’ can be a powerful force if managed correctly and Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws has it down to a fine art.
You Know Who You Are is one of those albums where you can stick in a pin and find a song that sounds like a potential single; another typical example being the more mellow ‘Rushing’, which features the slightly confusing lines “You come rushing at me/And I forget my body.”. ‘Believe You’re Mine’, meanwhile, has been shared by the band in advance of the album, and therefore, makes it a kind-of-single in these modern times. It is a great choice as it encapsulates the album nicely in four-and-a-half minutes.
The album also has the bonus of a sympathetic, unfussy production from long-time cohort Tom Beaujour, who resists the temptation to over-compress and instead presents the music very naturally, with a great ‘live’ sound.
‘Animal’ is another lovely harmony-laden track, featuring yet another killer line: “I need you like a string needs a kite to get to the sky,” while the title track takes things up a gear and comes over a little like The Posies in their imperial early-to-mid-90’s power-pop phase. You Know Who You Are is the sound of a band at ease with themselves; a warm-hearted treat of an album.
