After seeing this band live, the fact that they come from Pennsylvania and called Illinois kinda makes sense. The music is a bit unpolished and all over the place, but they have a banjo and are entertaining on stage. They remind me of a jangly version of Menomena before they got all too serious.
Nada Surf has been one of those bands that have spent a long time in my life. Releasing numerous addicting records and seeing them live for almost a decade, they continue to impress me. However, I am pretty disappointed with their new release “Lucky.” The album is full of restlessness and loneliness but without the bright catchy instrumentation to bring you back around. Although the songs sounded better live, those were the slowest parts of their set, and nearly bored me to leave but luckily they bounced back with some of their better crafted pop songs. And then the band played along with a dancing crowd onstage, which seems mandatory these days at Bowery.
Pictures from the show.