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Chances are, if you have ever heard of Nada Surf, you might know about them from two ways. One is through their big single, 1996’s ‘Unpopular’ for their debut High/Low, which peaked just outside of the US Billboard’s Top 10 which puts them on the map. Only for a short while however before their label, Elektra, drops them for not making a song with its commercial potential on their 1998 sophomore record The Proximity Effect. Another way is from their 2002 comeback Let Go which is regarded by fans as not only their best effort to date, but also as an overlooked alt-rock classic with favourites like ‘Inside of Love’ or ‘Blizzard of ‘77’. Frontman Matthew Caws didn’t seem to mind the prospect of not reaching sky-high fame and wealth fortunately enough as he and his bandmates always hold their love of music dearly.

Moon Mirror is not the kind of album that breaks new ground. That is an idiom that I always tend to use whether I feel that it feels complacent in its style or it doesn’t have enough eclectic influences to stand out. However, for a band like Nada Surf, maybe that is not the intent. Instead, the goal rests in how fun it sounds and it’s this mindset that allows Caws’ songwriting to shine with whatever tune he wants to try out. Folksy tracks like ‘Losing’ and ‘New Propeller’, fiddle-driven backings in ‘The One You Want’, or serious piano toppings from ‘X Is You’ are among the diverse array of music that he opts to play. while There might be a bit of shallowness in its structure or meaning such as on how its reliance on anaphora in ‘Losing’ doesn’t help the songs to deviate from the verse-chorus structure as much as one would have wanted. Yet, it is ultimately a fun tune to bang your head on with for a bit.

Furthermore, switches in the ways the instruments are played or the selective inclusion of certain ones gives slightly more depth to the sheer optimism of Moon Mirror. Case in point, the opening track ‘Second Skin’ has a jangly guitar riff as an example that has a melodic likeness of surf rock which adds a very upbeat feeling to the whole song. ‘In Front of Me Now’ features the synth which acts almost as a  which creates a dimension of appreciation in the midst of the carpe diem-esque lyrics. ‘Intel and Dreams’ demonstrates the childlike freedom of curiosity, leading to the most energetic song with both a punk-like tempo and a wholesome outro about spending time with your older sister. 

On the other hand, the likes of the title track and ‘Open Seas’ show the album at its most panglossian, embracing present living through major-key guitar licks and a tinge of vocal layering. The seeming naturalistic lyrics that relate to Romanticism adds to the greater sense of valuing life as it is and with the respective reverence to the moon and to the sea, there is a cyclic aspect that makes our seeming insignificance comfortable. It doesn’t feel as poignant as the likes of the Antlers comparatively speaking as the language does not feel as evocative, let alone the whole music, but it does leave you at peace. This carries on in ‘Give Me the Sun’ which sees the signature power pop style shine its brightest with a guitar solo and a lyrical focus on escapism.

Capping off Moon Mirror is ‘Floater’ which, in its gentle waves of synth and acoustic strums, feel more low-key as the outro compared to the sanguinity that emanates throughout the album. It builds up slowly throughout its five-minute runtime with bittersweet farewells to the paradise that was hyped up as bullish in the previous ten tracks. It fails to hit the same resonant impression, the subtle literariness and flexible song structure, of ‘Paper Boats’ on Let Go, High/Low’s ‘Zen Brain’, or ‘The Film Did Not Go Round’ in 2008’s Lucky. Instead, the abrupt flip in its atmospheric tune empties ‘Floater’ of any surprises that would have fully demonstrated Caws or any of his bandmates’ skills or inventiveness. It feels too much like a dud and as the closing track, it cements the lack of outside-the-box creativity as the album’s main problem.

Moon Mirror could be seen as a case for one of the many comeback attempts made by a prominent band at the tail end of the 20th Century. Oasis have reunited with the Gallagher brothers burying the hatchet for their tour. The Cure are aiming for sheer amount of hype with their upcoming work with a dedicated website called Songs of a Lost World. Radiohead has shut down any rumours of a quiet disband when Colin Greenwood mentioned their rehearsal a few months back from a conversation in the Hay Festival. With Nada Surf, it seems like Caws is completely comfortable with where he is and his bandmates appear to agree with him on it. They don’t have a legacy which flips the whole industry in its head, but they don’t have to. They have a killer single, at least one album that proves their artistic merit, and a passionate fanbase who shares their love for music. All they need to do is just make it any time they can as a treat and sometimes, that is the best way to grow your following. Especially when it comes to enjoying the good moments of life.

3.2/5