Release Date: (September 13, 2005)
Label: Barsuk
Producer:

December  Hotel 
Overall Rating:  ++++-

(Always Love)

Before I write anything, you must understand how much I love Nada Surf's previous album, "Let Go". I would certainly put it in my Top 20 favorite albums of all-time. Whenever you have a situation like that, you cross your fingers that their next album can be nearly as good. Well, I would go so far to say it's better, but in a different way. It's like a companion piece to "Let Go". They didn't dramatically change their sound like some bands might do after a huge hit when they are afraid of being compared to their previous effort. As I listened to "The Weight is a Gift", I kept wondering: "Could this band ever go wrong?"

Upon first listen, the album sounds much more "poppy" and "cheerful" then "Let Go" as a whole. This tone is set from the get go with "Concrete Bed", with it's lush vocals and breezy guitar. But the more I listen to the remaining songs, the more they resemble the tone of "Let Go". There are more mid-tempo, concise rock/pop songs and fewer ballads compared to "Let Go". It's really hard to pick a standout song, because they are all solid. I would probably pick "What is Your Secret?". I think the reason is because of the catchy lyrics that permeate this entire album....such as: "Our movies don't play much anymore/the actress was fired". Or my personal favorite phrase (from "Imaginary Friends"): "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes."

Recently I have been inundated with new music and most albums I am lucky to listen to one time in its entirety. However, I have probably listened to this album at least 10 times since I got it 2 weeks ago. I have only two somewhat negative things to say about the album. (1) If you are put off by bad language in songs, you might not enjoy "The Blankest Year", in which the f-word is repeated several times. Admittedly, I don't like such language in songs and I don't like the trend toward it these days. However, this song is so catchy you might look past it. Astonishes me that they did put it in the song. (2) There is about 5 minutes of no sound after the last song until something almost as unrewarding starts up. Again, I have no idea why bands do this. Either way, it shouldn't stop you from buying this album!

~ James M. Johnson