(StopStart/EMI)

No quick fix

I remember becoming enraged at a particularly poor review of Nada Surf’s brilliant 2002 record Let Go. It had all the hallmarks of the cruel review methodology that has dogged the band ever since they released a popular cheesy college rock anthem in the mid-‘90s. Thankfully, the band have remained resolute, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy being their seventh studio record and one that continues the band’s love affair with neat pop hooks, shimmering guitar tones, and the saccharine vocals of singer/guitarist Matthew Caws. It begins impressively with Clear Eye Clouded Mind, an upbeat power chord-fuelled fist-pumper that proves to be one of the best songs on the record. Elsewhere, the beautiful Big Star-inspired Jules And Jim further demonstrates the band’s talent for constructing glorious pop-rock moments. These songs partially offset the painful lyrical nostalgia that Nada Surf can sometimes be guilty of, clearly demonstrated on the record’s first single, When I Was Young (“when I was young, I didn’t know if I was better off asleep or up“). Disappointingly, Stars does begin to limp as it approaches the finish line, the latter half of the record filled with awkward, uninspiring numbers like Teenage Dreams and The Future. One wonders if it’s a contractual obligation to insert cheesy synth progressions when one uses the word ‘computers’ in a song, because that’s exactly what happens in The Moon Is Calling. I still love Nada Surf, but the momentum established at the beginning of The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy isn’t sustained throughout, meaning we’re left with a record that doesn’t reach the band’s usual high standard.

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DARRAGH MURRAY

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