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Avg: 4.0 (24 ratings)
- Date Released: September 20, 2005
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: City Slang / V2 Records
Fully recovered from their one-hit wonder status, Nada Surf sound on their fourth album like a band who know what they have.
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We Say...
After their 1996 hit "Popular," Nada Surf found themselves in danger of becoming one-hit wonders. Then they got dropped from their major label and began the long, slow climb to smaller but more durable indie stardom. By 2005's The Weight Is a Gift, their fourth album, Nada Surf had reached a comfortable plateau. If their third album, Let’s Go, was the sound of a band with something to prove, The Weight is the sound of a band who know what they have.
Guitar chiming and voice soaring, Matthew Caws jumps in with both feet on “Concrete Bed,” a peppy little number about conquering self-doubt: “To find someone you love, you gotta be someone you love,” he sings. Time and again, the album’s songs find him pushing toward grace, but always falling short. “Always Love” opens with simple riffs and simple truths, and then Caws steps on his distortion pedal and jumps into his falsetto register, as if he’s trying jump over the static in his mind.
Midway through, the album’s tone drifts towards a mood of acceptance. The melancholy “All Is a Game” is followed by “Blankest Year,” an exuberant, anthemic ode to letting the chips fall where they may. “Oh, fuck it,” Caws sings. “I’m gonna have a party.” Pitting his off-kilter strum against the rhythms section’s wire-tight backbeat, he’s reveling in being off-balance. Like the band itself, he’s strong for the hard times, and glad he’s still around to sing about them. -
They Say...
Upon its reissue in 2003, Let Go had already positioned itself to be an indie rock milestone in the making for Nada Surf. They'd left the major labels behind for Barsuk's hearth and home, and remained for their fourth album, The Weight Is a Gift. The savory punk threads found on Let Go are much more relaxed this time out. The snarky, boyish charm of High/Low, which made the band a brief mainstream favorite in the mid-'90s, won't ever fade, but ten years later Nada Surf don't appear to be that interested in the angst-ridden, fashionable appeal that they once were; each member is now over 30. The Weight Is a Gift is a soothing fit for those who grew up with the band. This 11-song set calls clichés into question, challenges old convictions, and somehow makes sense of growing older without losing sight of one's youth. Looking inward isn't always an easy thing to do. Nada Surf have composed fine songs for free-thinking, analytical, and pensive individuals, without being overly complex. The result of all this experience and reflection is that Nada Surf and producer/Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla have made a great pop/rock record. It's more of an emotive affair, with soft-hued guitar layers, hushed harmonies, and frontman Matthew Caws' signature aching, bittersweet performances. From the gloomy orchestrations of "My Legs Grow" and the shiny hopes of "All Is a Game" to the more unapologetic, rollicking moments such as "Blankest Year" and "Armies Walk," the disc never loses momentum. Each song is perfectly trimmed, cut to flow without the touch of heavy production, especially "In the Mirror" and "Imaginary Friends." The Weight Is a Gift is Nada Surf's most honest and earnest record to date.
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| 01. |  |
Concrete Band |
2:30 |
|
| 02. | |
Do It Again |
3:39 |
|
| 03. | |
Always Love |
3:19 |
|
| 04. | |
What Is Your Secret |
3:24 |
|
| 05. | |
Your Legs Grow |
3:01 |
|
| 06. | |
All Is A Game |
3:25 |
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| 07. | |
Blankest Year |
2:12 |
|
| 08. | |
Comes A Time |
5:04 |
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| 09. | |
In The Mirror |
3:43 |
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| 10. | |
Armies Walk |
3:27 |
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| 11. | |
Imaginary Friends |
4:46 |
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11 Total Tracks, 38:30 Total Length
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Credits
- John Goodmanson - Mixing // Ted Jensen - Mastering // Joe McGinty - Keyboards // Joe McGinty - Engineer // Lianne Smith - Vocal Harmony // Ed Stasium - Mixing // Phil Wandscher - Guitar // Sean Nelson - Vocal Harmony // Geoff Sanoff - Mixing // Louie Lino - Keyboards // Louie Lino - Producer // Louie Lino - Mixing // Louie Lino - Resonator // Nate Manny - Design // Chris Shaw - Mixing // Alexandra Holden - Cover Illustration // Christopher Walla - Guitar // Christopher Walla - Keyboards // Christopher Walla - Producer // Christopher Walla - Engineer // Christopher Walla - Photography // Coralie Clément - Vocal Harmony // John Roderick - Vocal Harmony // Tom Beaujour - Engineer // Fabrice Debuire - Engineer // Kenneth Earl Jankowski, Jr. - Horn // Rachel Bowman - Cello // Fino Oyonarte - Pre-Mixing // Ben Weber - Management
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