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Nada Surf
last updated 2026-09-11 11:26
Nada Surf
Plays on LTZ: 10 across 10 shows (2023-04-20, 2024-07-04, 2024-07-11, 2024-08-22, 2024-09-19, 2025-01-09, 2025-01-23, 2025-03-27, 2026-05-21, 2026-07-02)
Tracks played
Blonde on Blonde — researched 2026-09-11
Fruit Fly — played 2026-07-02
Research
22. Nada Surf — Blonde on Blonde
Nada Surf are a New York indie rock band led by Matthew Caws. Their 1996 debut single "Popular" gave them an early profile, but Let Go (2002, Barsuk Records) is where they found their footing — a record of quiet, honest pop songwriting. "Blonde on Blonde" is track 4 on Let Go, its title borrowed from Bob Dylan's 1966 double album. At 98 BPM and 4:34, it is gentle and unhurried.
Placement: Closes the show. The track's quiet quality makes it the right ending — nothing dramatic, nothing announced. The Bob Dylan reference in the title connects back to Bowie's "Song for Bob Dylan" in the history segment; a thread that runs through the evening without comment.
Nada Surf — Fruit Fly
Played: 2026-07-02 (Segment 3 — Indie run)
From Let Go (2002), the record that resurrected Nada Surf as a melodic indie band years after the one-hit spectre of "Popular." Gentle, chiming — a catalogue breather among the new releases.
Nada Surf
Origin: New York City, USA · formed 1992 · active
Members: Matthew Caws (lead vocals, guitar), Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals), Ira Elliot (drums, backing vocals), Louie Lino (keyboards)
Genre: Alternative rock, indie rock, power pop
Discography:
High/Low (1996) — Elektra — includes breakout single "Popular"
The Proximity Effect (1998) — Elektra/self-released in the US
Let Go (2002) — Barsuk Records — critical reset; includes "Blonde on Blonde" and "Fruit Fly"
The Weight Is a Gift (2005) — Barsuk
Lucky (2008) — Barsuk
If I Had a Hi-Fi (2010) — Barsuk (covers album)
The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (2012) — Barsuk
You Know Who You Are (2016) — Barsuk
Never Not Together (2020) — Barsuk
Moon Mirror (2024) — Barsuk
Facts:
The band's name gestures at "surfing on nothing" — Caws has described it as being lost in your own head or imagination.
After the one-hit success of "Popular" (1996) drew label pressure to repeat the formula, the band held day jobs through 1999–2002 (Caws worked at a Brooklyn record store) before self-financing the comeback record Let Go.